Breathe Into Me
by brokenxinsanity
Summary: Takes place after the S3 Finale Damon Salvatore's feelings for Elena disappeared the night she turned. He was in love with the human Elena, not the vampire one. What happens when his first long lost love comes back to town? Damon falls head over heels in love all over again, but when the Originals come back, seeking revenge, will they survive? Rated M for MATURE THEMES.
1. Opening: Do You Dare?

_**WARNING**: The story you are about to read contains spoilers for the third season finale. _

_If you are not comfortable with this, turn away now.  
For those of you who think you can handle it, then welcome. _

_This story consists of MATURE themes.  
_

_I won't beg and plead for reviews, but they would be greatly appreciated. :)__  
_

* * *

_I'm a killer, cold and wrathful, silent sleeper, I've been inside your bedroom._

_I've murdered half the town, left you love notes on their headstones._

_I'll fill the graveyards until I have you..._

_**She was dead.**_

Those three words rang through the Salvatore brothers' minds as they look down at the lifeless body of Elena Gilbert. Both had a look of sorrow on their faces as Meredith covered her body with a sheet. Neither of the brothers knew that in a few short hours, that white sheet would be torn off and Elena Gilbert would rise from the dead... _once again._

_What happens when Damon doesn't feel something toward Elena anymore?  
_

_What happens when a long lost love of Damon's returns to Mystic Falls?  
_

_What happens when the Originals come back to town?_

_What happens if an old Salvatore family secret gets out?  
_

Long lost secrets start to unravel and Mystic Falls will never be the same..._  
_


	2. A Thousand Faces

_I've been dancing with the devil for far too long._

Damon Salvatore laid in the middle of the street - sorrow filling his heart. Elena couldn't be dead. She just couldn't be. His stupid brother decided to save Mutt instead of Elena. Just how was that true love? Damon would of dragged her out, kicking and screaming. He wouldn't sit there and let her drown to death. What was his idiot brother thinking? Time stood still for Damon, the second hand wouldn't move. He was stuck. It stood it's ground. A single, unshed tear fell from the vampire's eyes, aching for his long lost lover. The pieces of him he lost, he had no choice but to move on - it was what he was good at. But Damon had other things to worry about.. liking punishing his brother for letting his love die in a watery grave, to die the same way her parents did. He knew he shouldn't have trusted Stefan to take care of her. Of course not, his brother was a ripper - there was no doubt in his mind that Stefan did this on purpose.

A sadistic smirk covered his wicked lips. Damon knew just how he'd punish Stefan.

The boarding house was quiet, too quiet as Damon walked through the front door. He found Stefan a second later, drinking his pain away. Scoffing, Damon felt his anger rise up in him as he charged at Stefan, knocking him into the wall. The glass Stefan had been holding fell to the floor - glass shattering all over the floor. "This is your fault. You let her drown. For a person that is supposed to love her more than anyone else, you let her drown?"

"Damon-"

"NO! You fucking let her drown, Stefan. You let her die. You should've saved her! I wouldn't have cared if Mutt died, I would of saved Elena! I would of died before I let her drown. You are nothing but a hypocrite. You act like you give a shit about her, but you don't. You only wanted to punish everyone for turning their backs on you when you went ripper. Elena was happy. I made her happy. I filled the gap while you were gone and you fucking let her die!"

"DAMON-"

He hadn't noticed he was shaking until his fist collided with the wall next to his brother's head. "What?"

Stefan looked him straight in the eye as he spoke. "Elena isn't dead."

Damon felt a rush vanish into thin air. "What?"

"Turn around."

Damon did, nearly collapsing to his knees in the process. Elena Gilbert stood there, in the same clothes he'd last seen her in. There was indifference in her eyes and she stared at him. She was no longer human. Damon felt a stab of pain in his heart as he looked her over, noticing the faint trickle of blood on her mouth. She completed the transition. She was no longer human. Damon never wanted this for her. And it was Stefan's fault. Another burst of anger rushed into his system as he turned to face his brother - landing a solid punch to his jaw before turning back to Elena, taking one last look at him before he used his super human abilities to vanish before their eyes. Once he was sure they hadn't followed him, Damon turned into his crow form and flew. Where was he going? He didn't know. But he knew he had to get away from the town of Mystic Falls. He needed to get the hell out of Dodge.


	3. First Meeting

_Damon's usual pass time was what he did best. Sprawled out in the middle of the street, the vampire waited for his next victim. He was in no rush. What was the point, when you live for eternity? Lost, in his thoughts, Damon thought he was hearing things when he heard her voice. That sweet, angelic voice of the same person that had dealt his cards for him more than a hundred and fifty years ago._

_"I know Bonnie, you're right. You and my mom both are. I just can't bring myself to tell him. At least not tonight. I'll call you later."_

_A gush of wind and Damon was standing in front of her, a look of surprise coming over her features - he could easily read her mind then. What was this strange man doing in the middle of nowhere, in Mystic Falls. But she never voiced her thoughts, no. And that's what excited Damon the most. She didn't run, nor did she scream, instead, she gathered enough courage to continue speaking to him, as if he was an old friend of the family._

_"Katherine..."_

_Turning around to look behind, Elena couldn't hide her sudden wonder who this Katherine was. "Uh...No - I'm Elena."_

_"Oh. You-You just look- I'm sorry, you just really remind me of someone." Damon spoke, stepping cautiously toward Elena. "I'm Damon."_

_"Not to be rude or anything, Damon, It's kinda creepy that you're out here in the middle of nowhere."_

_"You're one to talk," Damon retorted, cocking his head to the side. "You're out here all by yourself."_

_And with a sharp tongue, Elena threw his words back at him, with a set of her own, "It's Mystic Falls, nothing bad ever happens here."_

_Oh how wrong you are about to be, Elena. Damon thought wickedly, the caged vampire in him wanting out so desperately. He wanted to taste the human in front of him, but Damon held him back. More so out of curiousity. How could it be that there was someone that looked exactly like Katherine? Or was it really Katherine, pretending to be someone else? Why would she pretend to be someone else toward him when they were really in the middle of nowhere, where no one would hear them if they reavealed their true selves to each other? It confused Damon. But what confused Damon even more, was the aura that was surrounding the precious girl standing in front of him. She had spunk. Like his past loves, Damon loved it._

_"Got into a fight with my boyfriend."_

_"'Bout what? May I ask."_

_"Life. Future. He's got it all mapped out."_

_"You don't want it?" Damon questioned, quirking an eyebrow at her._

_"I don't know what I want." Elena replied, shrugging her shoulders._

_"Well that's not true, You want what everyone wants." Damon smirked._

_"What, mysterious stranger who has all the answers?" Quick again, Damon's mind noted._

_Scoffing, Damon turned his head away for a moment, looking out into the forest, contemplating his next words. "Well let's just say that I've been around a long time, I've learned a few things." Scrunching his lips together, Damon gave Elena his infamous pout._

_"So Damon, tell me, what is it that I want?"_

_Without compelling her, Damon slowly stepped closer and closer, a step for every word until he was eye to eye with her. "You want a love that consumes you, you want passion and adventure - and even a little danger." Her eyes... those doe eyes that he fell in love with so long ago, Damon could of melted under her gaze, but he forced himself to keep his cocky attitude in check, front and present._

_"So, what do you want?"_

_Letting the breath he'd be holding go, Damon was about to speak when suddenly, a car horn honked - two quick beep, interrupting their beautiful conversation. Elena glanced over her shoulder, watching as her parent's car closed in on them. With a sweet smile on her face, she introduced them. "That's my parents."_

_However, when she turned back to look at Damon, she was stunned into surprise as he kept their eye contact locked together. This time, compelling her, Damon spoke softly. "I want you to get everything you're looking for, but right now, I want you to forget this ever happened - Can't have people knowing I'm in town just yet." Smirking at her, he looked her face over once more, forever planting it in his memory - he'd already guessed that this one was nothing like Katherine. "Goodnight, Elena." And with two final words, Damon Salvatore dispersant, as if washed away with the gust of wind that followed shortly after, leaving Elena Gilbert both stunned and slightly as if her life was just beginning in that moment as her parent's car headlights washed over her body as she searched around for the man that suddenly changed her life with simple words, illuminating her in a white glow as Damon watched in the shadows of the night._

And that was how Damon met Elena. From that moment on, Damon could not, for the eternal life of him, get the human out of his head from that point on. Her mouth was poison, seeping through his skin, infecting everything about him. If only he'd not make her forget that moment, Damon would of had her by now and he would of be the one to step into Stefan's shoes. He would of kept her safe. She'd know this, too. She'd know everyday that she was safe and that Damon wouldn't let her become a vampire. But no. Damon was still pinning over Katherine then. His only thought was finding her and releasing her from the tomb, only to find out the bitch was never in the tomb to begin with.

_"What are you doing here, Damon?"_

_"I could ask you the same thing, but I'm fairly certain your answer could be summed up into one little word; Elena. ... You know, she's a dead ringer for Katherine."_

And to this day, Damon only believe that to be the reason why Stefan just had to save Elena the day her parents died. He didn't believe him when he spoke about it having nothing to do with Katherine. Damon scoffed, downing the last of the drink in his hand as he sat in a chair in his hotel room, looking out the window at the night life of Mystic Falls. He thought he loved Katherine - she was everything he was looking for. He was in healing, mourning the loss of his previous love, and only a hundred years later, did Damon find out that his lost love before Katherine was, in fact, now a vampire and that her maker was Katherine. Damon could remember his days with Evangeliya - or Eva for short - so clearly. It pained him so, that the poor human got the same fate as him, only a few days apart. Katherine was evil, deceitful and downright irritating, it made Damon wonder why he even held some feelings toward the vampire. A rustling, like a jingle of keys sounded just outside his motel room, tearing Damon from his thoughts. Taking cover in the shadows, Damon waited silently for his prey to walk right in.

What did walk through that door floored Damon.

Standing very much in the flesh, Evaneliya looked around, before calling out. "Come out, come out, wherever you are, Damon. I know you're here. Stefan said this was your favorite place to be when crazy shit happens in Mystic Falls."

Peering out from behind the wall that connected the bathroom, Damon watched as Eva's eyes landed on him, her fiery eyes staring a hole straight through him. He felt like a little kid that had been caught trying to run away from home.

"What are you doing here, Eva?"


	4. Letting Go

"I could ask you the same thing, Damon." She replied, tossing the key onto the wooden table beside the door. "But I'm pretty sure your answer will be something along the lines of things got too crazy to live with and you thought you'd get the hell outta Dodge."

Damon felt like Deja vu hit him all over again.

Taking a seat on the bed, Eva looked at him - really looked at him. He didn't look bad, but he didn't look good. "Before you say anything - Stefan called me up, after you stormed out of the boarding house. Asked me to come looking for you, since he didn't want to make things worse than they already are." Sighing softly, Eva shook her head. "He doesn't like what he did, Damon. He feels bad enough without you hating him."

Snorting, Damon leaned against the wall. "You're defending him?"

"I'm not." Eva snapped, her fiery eyes shooting daggers at him. "You, above all people know that I don't particularly like Stefan all that much." She could tolerate him - to a point. But after that, he was much of an annoyance as hearing Katherine's name again after all these years.

Eva touched the deepest part of Damon. Places that he could never see, but somehow, Eva did. She brought out the good in Damon, as much as Elena did. She kept him on his toes, made him second guess his actions. "Wanna talk about it?" He heard Eva questioned as he dragged his eyes from the floor to look at her, raising an eyebrow. He watched her lean against the headboard, patting the bed beside her. This was all too familiar territory for Damon. His feet moved on their own as he walked over to the bed, letting his body melt into the sheets. It wasn't long before Eva took his hand in hers, slipping her fingers between his. Damon felt a moment of comfort as he laid his head on her shoulder. There was no tension, there was nothing holding them back the way it held Damon and Elena back. Eva never recovered from wanting revenge on Katherine, so she never found someone. And she was okay with that. She was okay with being alone.

"She's a vampire- Stefan didn't bother to save her. Instead, he decided to listen- to listen to her wishes and save Mutt." Damon chest constricted just talking about it.

"Granted, Damon, what Stefan did, wasn't right in most of the people's eyes. But it was Elena's choice. Free will and all that. It's a fickle thing to have. Important thing to lose, too. You would of saved her, this I know, whether or not you would of taken her choice or free will into account, is questionable..."

Damon turned his chin up to give her a pointed look.

"Lemme finish." She waved her hand dismissively at him, "But you've yet to have your free will taken from you - not including the time with K-" Eva stopped herself short, biting her tongue before continuing. "-that bitch. Stefan lost his free will to Klaus, the ever bastard of the century, and it lost him Elena in the process. Do you get what I'm saying? He wanted to let her have her choice... but I don't think he knew she'd become a vampire..."

Raising an eyebrow, Damon questioned her. "How do you figure, Novakov?"

Eva raised an eyebrow back at him. "Well... did you not notice when you were beating the shit out of him? He was upset - clearly upset - and he was beating himself up over it. Like he knew he let her die, of course. But I don't think he knew she had vampire blood in her system when she died. He seemed pretty torn up. Why do you think he didn't fight you back? He knew he'd done something stupid and reckless, and wrong."

She had a point. Damon made note of this. Still, it didn't settle with him that his brother, the person that was supposed to love Elena more than anyone in the world, would let his 'true love' drown in a watery grave. It didn't make any sense to Damon. Slowly, Eva's fingers worked their way through his hair, sending shivers through him. She was the only one that knew what it did to him and just how special the move was to him. Whenever Damon was sick, when he was younger, his mother would do the same. It was one of the many secrets he shared with Eva and only she knew the significance of them. "Let's worry about how Stefan is going to deal with this and the consequences tomorrow, for now, you could use some distraction." Letting his eyes close, Damon wasn't going to argue with her there. They sat like that, with Eva running her fingers on one hand through his hair, while the other held onto his hand, for hours.

His mind was at ease, for now. Eva could tell just by looking at his peaceful face. His steady breathing was the only indication that the vampire was even alive. He looked more like a boy than a man when he slept. Eva smiled softly before untangling her fingers from his, laying his head down on the pillow gently. Slowly, she tip toed toward the bathroom. A good hot shower was what she needed. Closing the door, leaving it open a crack, Eva turned on the hot water and let it warm up. She took the bobby pins out of her hair, letting her jet black hair fall in curls behind her back. Her boots were the first to come off. The poor things were so caked in mud, she was sure she'd have to thrown them out soon. She stripped off her clothes, one article at a time, draping them over the towel rack. Staring herself in the mirror, the only thing left on her body, was two necklaces. The blue stone was the only thing that kept her from going up in flames. The other, was a simple ring, with one good sized stone in the middle, surrounded by two little ones on either side. Her engagement ring. It felt like a lifetime ago, that her and Damon were human and happy, ready to live out a normal, happy, human life in the South, in Mystic Falls. Their wedding date was set and everything was picked out. Not but a few days before the wedding, Eva had went into town to do one last fitting before her wedding and that's when she met Katherine.

The next day, a few townspeople had found her body drained of blood in the shop, wearing her wedding gown that she was supposed to walk down the isle in. She awoke hours later, near a lake. A witch had been there, handed her the blue stone, saying 'It is your choice if you wish to die now or later.' At first, she didn't understand what the hell she meant by that, but as the hours ticked by, the scratchy throat was the only indication of what she had to do. And her way of doing it, was something she wasn't proud of. She had only completed her transition when she heard what had happened to the Salvatore brothers. She instantly knew the culprit. Katherine had been the cause of it. She had gotten caught by Damon's father and his followers, and stupidly enough, Damon and Stefan went to save her. She could of smacked them both that night, telling them that it was a trap. Since that day, Eva had plotted her revenge, not only for her sake, but for Damon's as well.

Stepping into the shower, she let the motel's scorching hot water wash away all the bad memories. Under the shower head, Eva didn't notice Damon sneak in. It wasn't until she felt hands around her waist, turning her around, did she open her eyes. Staring into Damon's eyes, was like staring into a universe of possibilities. She felt human all over again in that moment.

"You were supposed to be sleeping." She scolded him, poking his exposed chest with her index finger.

The response she got was Damon smirking. He didn't speak a word. Instead, Damon reached around her for the shampoo, turning her around to face the waterfall. She allowed him to. He was the only person that could control her and properly get away with it at the same time. The next thing she knew, Damon's finger tips were sinking into her scalp, massaging the shampoo into her hair. A soft moan escaped her lips. He always did have a miracle touch.

It was a perfect ending to the night as she heard the Mystic Falls town square clock chime twelve bells; midnight. It was the beginning of another day. Another adventure. Damon's hands turned around her again, pushing her gently under the water. She looked up at him, watching him closely as she rung her hair out under the water. Curiosity getting the better of her, Eva couldn't help herself. "Can I ask you something?"

Damon was a bit confused by her question - that much she could see, but he replied nonetheless. "Spill."

Shifting her weight underneath his gaze, Eva didn't look him in the eye, instead, her fingers played with the ring on the chain she had put it on many years ago. "Would you have still married me... if Katherine didn't get to me?"

She could see Damon pondering the thought of her question. It didn't take him long to respond, which surprised her. Instead of replying with words, Damon shocked her by leaning his head down, his lips gently caressing hers, before fierceness took over and he was kissing her with so much passion, that she thought her vampire heart would explode. A few heart beats later and he lifted his head, releasing her lips in the same moment. She was breathing hard, at a human pace, while Damon looked unaffected. She watched him smirk as he spoke, "Does that answer your question?"

"Yes." She whispered breathlessly. She contemplated her next move for a split second, before she flung her arms around his neck, nearly knocking him off his feet. She had stunned him, that much was for sure, because she could feel his body tense up, before his arms wrapped themselves around her waist, giving her a powerful hug back.

Damon could hardly believe, that after all these years, they could still fall back into their usual routine, as if they were two humans, living out a human life. It made his chest swell with an emotion that he could barely comprehend. It was a feeling that he thought was long gone. Nothing else mattered but this moment. Stefan didn't matter, Katherine didn't matter, hell even Elena didn't matter. What mattered, was the vampire he held in his arms. Kissing her damp hair, Damon chuckled. "This is a nice reunion." He spoke in all honesty. It was nice. It was nice not having Elena around. He almost forgot what it felt like, to not be pining over a woman. Dare he say he was near over Elena?


	5. Reunited

Eva woke the next morning, to the sun shining in her face. Groaning, she rolled onto her side, bumping into something hard in the process. Peaking out of one eye, Eva was greeted by Damon's chest. His chest silently rumbled with laughter. He was laughing at her. _Jesus Christ, he was laughing at her!_

"I see not even becoming a vampire can change the fact that you're not a morning person." Damon laughed.

"I've always been a night owl. I like the night better." Eva replied groggily. She sat up, throwing her legs over the side of the bed, stretching her legs out and wiggling her toes, attempting to get the blood circulating again. In a quick second, her felt her bra being unhooked. Another second after that, Damon had her pinned underneath him.

"Then let's pass the time of the day away." He raised his eyebrows at her, a smirk covering his lips as his hands explored her half naked body, working their way up to her chest. He slipped her bra off her arms, tossing it away, without a care as to where it landed. Leaning down, his lips traced a hot trail of kisses, working from her neck, all the way down to her navel. It was like a fairytale. She was the beauty and he was the beast. She didn't feel her lacy underwear being removed from her waist - her mind was too occupied by Damon's lips distracting her. Her fingers ran through his hair, before pulling his face toward hers, looking him in the eye. She stared deep into his eyes, as if she could see his soul in the process. Truth was, Eva already knew what his soul consisted of. His naked soul was like a newborn, waiting to enjoy life and revel in it's possibilities. Damon bent down and kissed her lips, ignoring her attempts at speaking.

"Damon-"

"Shhhhh." Damon replied, kissing her lips quickly, shutting her up. "Don't question me, Eva. _Please_."

Eva stared at him, stunned. Well, he'd never _begged _to her before, what was a girl supposed to do? Something sparked between them and Eva could of sworn she saw the human Damon peek through his vampire shell. She could of sworn she saw a hundred and fifty plus years just wash away. Eva managed to compose herself, letting her fingertips softly run over his jawline, tracing it. She watched as Damon's eyes closed. _Perfect._ Eva smirked softly before capturing his lips with her own. Now it was Damon who was stunned. Her hands slid down his face, making their way down his chest. Feeling the tight muscles under his thick skin twitch under her fingers, Eva was pretty certain that she had Damon aroused. Her theory was proven correct when her leg brushed between his legs as she fumbled to get his buckle open. She felt sickly human, her heart thrumming in her chest, beating faster than she ever thought it could.

Finally succeeding in freeing his pants from the damn buckle, Eva undid the button, then unzipped the zipper, successfully freeing his member from the constricting clothing. Pushing both of his articles of clothing from his skin, Eva threw them over the bed. Taking his face in her hands once again, Eva spoke. "We've been through too much, Damon Salvatore. I'll stand by your side, whenever you need me. I won't question your actions, I'll just follow." Using her vampire strength, Eva rolled them over, with Damon underneath her.

"You've been through so much, my love." She placed her hand against his cheek, watching his eyes close at the touch.

"You've had people die. You've beaten yourself up over a lot of things that couldn't be controlled. You've had others walk out of your life, and some walk in, only to love your brother instead of you. You've had to take care of everyone else. But no one bothered to take care of you." She bent down to place a gentle kiss on his lips. "This time, let me take care of you."

And with those words, comfortable silence followed as Eva slid herself onto Damon's erected member. The feeling of her taking him whole, inside of her nearly made Damon lose control. His hands guided her hips, obeying her wish. In a swift movement, Damon had one of her nipples in his mouth, sucking on it vigorously. She couldn't stop the moan that left her lips. His other hand moved to play with her other breast, massaging it to get another moan out of her. And he got his wish. A groan slipped through her lips. He turned the tables on her. Now, Eva was going to turn the tables on him. Placing her hands on his chest, she pushed him back against the bed, nibbling at his ear, whispering sweet nothings to him. She quickened her thrusts, enjoying the reaction she was getting from him. He met her half way - his own thrusts meeting hers in perfect sync.

If anyone didn't know any better, they would think the two of them were on their honeymoon, making love for the first time. When in reality, that's what it was. It was the first time, in a long time, that she ever had the chance of pleasuring Damon Salvatore _and _actually having him allow her to do it. She could see his eyes change drastically - the greyish icy blue was only a sliver. The blackness of the pupil took over, nearly covering his baby blues. She could faintly see the veins darkening under his eyes, making her wonder when the last time he fed was.

_Tale as old as time. Song as old as rhyme..._

Eva tilted her head to the side, exposing her neck, all the while never letting her pace falter. "You're hungry, I can see it."

Her suspicions were proven right when Damon's eyes landed on her neck and the veins darkened more. "How do you know I'm hungry for that? I could just be hungry _for you_."

That thought made Eva giggle. _She actually giggled. _Damn the things he did to her without knowing. "Have you looked in the mirror lately?" She countered. "Just take it, Damon."

He wasted no time in obeying her, as he pulled her neck down toward him. His fangs pierced her skin with little to no pain at all. The feeling of him inside her and drinking her blood, nearly sent her over the edge. Her fingers curled around a handful of the bed sheet. He continued to drink from her - needy at first, then a casual stream flowed into his mouth. "Damon... oh Damon..." Eva whispered, feeling her climax coming on.

_You've done enough for me, angel. _Damon's telepathic voice filled her ears.

Damon continued to keep his fangs in her neck, but he was no longer forcefully sucking the crimson blood out. Eva's fingernails dug into his forearm as her body clenched around him, her climax coming. It wasn't until her satisfying sigh, did Damon retract his fangs from her neck, licking the droplets of blood off her neck, watching the wounds seal themselves shut. She rested her head on his shoulder, planting a gentle kiss on his skin. Damon pulled the covers up, covering her naked back.


	6. Cosmic Love

It was nearing late afternoon by the time they left the hotel, to head back to the boarding house. It took some convincing, but Eva finally managed to get Damon to go back, telling him she'd stay with him if he wished it. Damon carried Eva for a few miles, insisting that he do so, after watching her stumble a few times because she didn't accept his blood from him when he held his wrist out for her to take. Eva didn't like it, but Damon would be insufferable the rest of the way unless she didn't do as he said.

Only a mile back did he finally set her down on her own two feet. The deserted road was just that, blacktop with no lines to tell which side you were supposed to stay on. It was a heated summer day, but she still wore her leather jacket. Why? She had no idea. She felt cold, but when in reality, she wasn't even cool to the touch. They walked in silence, enjoying each other's company before they had to go back to reality.

"Would you have still married me?" Damon broke the silence first.

Eva's face never betrayed her emotions on the inside as she smiled at him. "Honestly? I would. I loved the 1864 Damon, sure. But to be honest with you, I like the vampire Damon better."

She watched him smile. It gave her the impression that he didn't hear that very often. And he only confirmed it when he spoke.

"You are the first to say that."

"Why?"

Damon lifted his shoulders in a shrug. "No one has ever said it before. I came back to Mystic Falls to search for a woman that I thought still loved me, only to find out that she was playing me the entire time. I didn't worry about other people's feelings, but I received judgment from them."

"You don't like the expectation that being nice brings." Eva replied, nodding her head. "I know that feeling."

"Do you?" Damon asked honestly, raising an eyebrow at her.

She nodded once again. "The best thing I did in my father's eyes was be interested in you. Everything before that, I never did right. Then when he found out about the engagement, I was suddenly the princess over my sister, instead of the ugly duckling."

It was then, that Damon realized why he fell in love with her in the first place. She reminded him so much of himself, that it was uncanny. Both of them were motherless because their mothers died, giving birth to their siblings. They were both despised by their fathers, to an extent. She was like a female version of him. "I loved you, Eva. I really did." Damon confessed. "When I heard you were attacked... I-I lost a piece of myself. I thought many times why you were the next victim and if only I had been there..."

"You wouldn't have stopped it." Eva interrupted him. "You would of only gotten yourself killed. Then I'd be roaming this earth without you... I couldn't live with that, knowing you died trying to protect me."

Damon felt pride and love course through his veins when she said that. There were no words for what he wanted to tell her. He wanted to comfort her, make up for all those years apart, all those years that he spent trying to find Katherine and be reunited with her, should of been spent trying to find Eva and being reunited with her. "I didn't know you were a turned, back then. I only saw your picture on a wanted poster in Florence for some kind of mass murder."

"S'okay." Eva shrugged. "I never made an effort to find out if you were alive or not either. So, we're even." She held out her hand toward him. "Deal?"

Damon smiled as he took her hand in his. "Deal."

They continued on for the next four miles, just walking and enjoying the silence between them. There were no need for words. It was one of the things they both enjoyed about each other, how they didn't need to speak to convey their feelings toward each other. It was genuine love. No catch. No strings attached. It was simple, not unrequited like Damon and Elena.

When they finally reached the boarding house, the sun was setting beyond the horizon. Damon held the door open for Eva as the voices inside hushed. When they walked in, hand in hand, the whole living room stopped to look at them. Caroline, Elena, Stefan, Bonnie, Jeremy and Matt were all there, staring at them. Eva pulled on Damon's hand, nodding her head toward upstairs. Damon nodded twice, loosening his grip on her hand, watching her retreating back. It wasn't until she was fully up the stairs and in his room did he move.

"Who was that?" Elena questioned, asking the same thing that was on everyone else's mind but Stefan's.

Damon opened his mouth to speak, but the voice of Eva cut him off. "I'm his fiancee."

The faces on everyone dropped, except Stefan's. Stefan merely had to contain his smirk that threatened to break through. Damon walked over to Stefan, nodding his head at him. "Thank you." Stefan bowed his head at his brother, watching his own retreating back. When Damon was out of eye shot, and Stefan turned around, everyone was staring at him.

"Is that true?" Caroline asked.

"To a degree, yes." Stefan replied. "When Katherine turned her, they weren't married yet."

"Katherine turned her?" Elena questioned.

Stefan just nodded.

"She looks eerily like him. Acts like him too." Bonnie mused.

"More than you know, Bonnie. More than you know." Stefan responded, glancing over to the stairs.

Eva grinned at Damon when he walked through the door of his room.

"Thanks for that."

"Yeah, well it's true, really." Eva mused, grinning as she shrugged her shoulders.

"The line between you and my sanity is slowly fading." Damon remarked, earning a smack on the arm by Eva. "Ow!"

"Baby. I didn't hit you that hard!"

Eva dove over his bed when he took off after her.

Squealing, Eva flew through the threshold of his room, aiming for the stairs. She skidded to a halt at the top of the stairs, looking around for Damon, who had disappeared. When she turned around, he there. Screaming in delight, Eva jumped over the three flights of stairs, landing with a thud ont he floor beneath him. Everyone turned around to see what the commotion was about as Eva looked up at Damon.

"You are so dead, Novakov."

"You can't kill what's already dead, Salvatore!" Eva grinned, taking off into the living room, jumping over the sofa, side stepping Bonnie in the process. "Hey, do me a favor and do that witchy ju ju mind thing you do." She swung her legs over the banister that went to the library.

Too late. Turning around, she ran right into Damon's chest. "Oh shit!" She turned around, but Damon caught her in his vice like grip. "N-No-No Damon! Put me down!"

"Sorry for the interruption, guys. Please, do continue chatting as if nothing happened." Damon smirked.

"Damon!" Eva screamed, making everyone cringe for their safety.

Damon threw her onto the sofa. "Should I make you suffer a little?"

"NO."

Smirking, Damon ran his hands up and down her body, making her squirm under his touch.

"Damonnnnn, stoppppp itttttt." Eva tried to get out, between fits of laughter.

Everyone stared at the two vampires. There were no words for the scene. Hell, they couldn't believe that Damon was actually being _not himself_ for once. Elena especially, was shocked. Jealousy was creeping into her heart though at the sight of them playing around. It pained her that she didn't know about this lost love that Damon had.


	7. Heavy In Your Arms

"Someone's here." Elena said, after a moment.

All the vampires stopped and listened. It wasn't until the front door of the boarding house opened, that everyone moved. Evaneliya was the first to move, a growl forming in her throat. She was a pissed off feral kitten. Damon raised an eyebrow, his face dropping when the person that he least expected walked through into view. Katherine stood there, with a smirk on her face.

"So, it's true then? Elena's finally a vampire?"

"What do you want Katherine?" Stefan argued, his brooding forehead twisting in anger.

She shrugged. "Just came by to see if the rumors were true, is all." She looked around the room, spotting Eva. "Hello, Evaneliya. I see you found Damon again."

"Katerina." Eva hissed. "I вижте не сте били убити все още. Жалко, че е."

Everyone looked at her as if she were an alien.

"Pity I didn't kill _you _when I had the chance." Katherine retorted.

That was all it took for Eva to lose it. She charged at Katherine, knocking her into the wall. Grabbing a fist full of the vampire's hair, Eva slammed her maker's head into the wall. "You killed her. You knew and you killed her. You selfish, cold-hearted bitch!" Eva landed one good punch ot Katherine's face before both Stefan and Damon had pulled her away. "I'll never forgive you, Katherine Pierce if it's the last thing I do. I'll hunt you down and haunt you until your dying days!"

"Get out." Damon growled, showing Katherine the door. "Before I throw you out." He pushed Katherine through the threshold and slammed the door behind her.

Eva collasped to her knees in a fit of tears, Stefan going down with her, trying to console her to the best of his ability. When Damon came back, everyone watched silently. What was the fight all about?

"Eva.." Damon spoke softly, lifting her chin up to face him.

Tears were still streaming down her face, full force and freely. Eva didn't bother to wipe them away. Her heart was as if it were in a vice like grip. He was about to speak, when Eva muttered something softly.

"She killed her - She knew I - She could sense it. She _knew _and she still drained me dry."

"Eva, calm down." Damon took her face in his hands. "Killed who?"

There was a moment of silence - a few heartbeats skipped through before Eva spoke, loud enough for everyone to hear.

"_Our daughter._" She said, tearing her face from his grasp. Stefan kept her rooted in place though. "For a hundred and fifty years, I've kept it to myself, I held a grudge against her. I wanted her to _die_."

There was an audible gasp throughout the room. Damon was froze still. Stefan stared at his brother in shock, much like Elena, Bonnie, Caroline, Jeremy and Matt stared at him.

"I'm so sorry, Damon-I wanted to tell you. I was going to do, that night. I tried before going to the last fitting, but my father insisted that I go before they closed. _I wanted to tell you_, Damon. Please-_Please _don't hate me. I _begged _her, I begged her not to kill me.. I'm so sorry..." She blabbered on, more tears pouring out, sorrow filling the room.

There was something that flashed in Damon's eyes. Stefan let his grip on Eva go, but she continued to cry. There was a moment of anguish, of retching indecision, before Damon surprised them all by gathering Eva into his arms, cradling her to his chest. "A hundred and fifty years is a long time to keep that secret to yourself, angel." He whispered, tightening his grip on her. His chest trembled with her sobbing as he attempted to calm her down. "Shhhhh.." He pulled her into his lap on the floor, steadily rocking her back and forth gently. His blue hues looked up at his brother, before looking at everyone else. At this point, he didn't care if they saw his softer side. He turned his head, burying in the crook of her neck as Eva clung to him, like a child that just lost her parents.

The jealousy that filled Elena before evaporated into sorrow. She knew all too well, the feeling of losing someone close to you. And Eva had suffered the worst kind. Elena hadn't noticed she was crying, too, until Stefan's hand brushed against her face to wipe her tears away. She went in for a hug and Stefan allowed it. If there was one thing that Damon knew, it was that he would make Katherine pay. One way or another, Katherine would meet the same fate as Klaus; a stake to the heart, to forever rot in hell for her evil deeds.

_You're jaded, slated and singled out, by all those chains that bind._

A good portion of the night was spent on the floor for Damon, who cradled Eva in his arms still. The others had left, their human and non human bodies needing a rest from the night's display of torture. Elena and Stefan were the only two left. No words were spoken. There wouldn't be enough words to say to make the vampire feel better. A hundred and fifty years, she spent, living with the secret. Damon didn't expect her to recover so quickly from it. His fingers were so numb from running them through her jet black hair, that Damon didn't even feel the softness of her hair anymore. A sniffle brought him out of his thoughts, as he looked down at Eva.

"You okay?" Damon asked gently, caressing her face with one of his hands, before the other one came around to wipe her tears away, along with the mascara and eyeliner that made it's tracks down her cheeks.

Eva nodded her head, feeling physically and emotionally exhausted. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you... I was already afraid of my father to begin with... I didn't want to disobey him..."

"Shhhhh." Damon took her face in his hands once again, for the umpteenth time in the past couple of days. "It's okay."

He hugged her closer to his body, just as Stefan came walking back into the room, holding what appeared to be several blood bags. Handing one to Damon, he inclined his head to Eva and Damon nodded, mouthing a 'thank you' to his brother. "Here," Damon pulled the cap off, pressing the bag against Eva's lips as he held the back of her neck. "Drink."

If there was anything that anyone knew, it was that blood made any situation feel better to a vampire. Just like vampire blood made humans feel great when they were injured. Eva drank the blood greedily, down the whole bag in a few gulps. Damon wondered just how long it had been since _she _fed. When she was done, Damon took the bag from her and set it on the table nearest to his reach. He turned back, just as Eva wiped the blood from her mouth. "Come on." He picked her up, hell bent on carrying her to his bed. "Don't argue with me."

Eva stayed quiet as he walked up the stairs and down the hallway to his room. Tucking her into his bed, Damon leaned over and placed a kiss on her forehead. "I'll see you in the morning." He turned and flipped the switch on the wall that dimmed the lights. Shutting the curtains was another thing he did before shutting the door quietly behind him. As he walked down the stairs, he was greeted by Stefan and Elena.

"She okay?" They both asked in union.

Damon nodded. "It's been a long day for her." He turned to Stefan. "Can I talk to you for a moment?"

Nodding, Stefan followed Damon into the backyard. "I-I'm sorry, for hitting you. For everything, actually. I know if I had been there, Klaus would of never taken control over you and the Ripper wouldn't exist. Tonight's been one hell of a journey, I realized that there are worst things to hold onto than anger and hatred. I've done things I'm not proud of, Stefan. With you, with Elena, with everyone. I can't change it, but I can try and make up for it. So, with that said," Damon held his hand out toward Stefan. "Truce? You and Elena will live happily ever after and I... well, I haven't figured out what I'll do just yet. If that deal we made earlier is still in effect, I'll leave town. You've got Elena, we agreed on if she picked one, the other would leave town."

Stefan didn't hesitate to take his brother's hand, but his words surprised Damon. "Stay in town, Damon. Your life is here, no matter how you want to make it out to be, is up to you. All I know, is that, that Damon back there, I haven't seen in awhile. She's strong, Damon, but that doesn't mean she won't need someone to fight for her when she can't. She still loves you. And I wouldn't take that lightly, after tonight, not after what you've heard, what we've all heard. She still loves you, even _after _she knew what happened between you and Katherine. I wouldn't give her up."

Damon nodded, shaking his brother's hand. And with a moment of silence, Stefan and Damon walked back into the boarding house, not as enemies, _but as brothers_.


	8. Heartlines

"_This isn't over," Eva said. "After everything we've been through, you don't get the right to brush me off. I'm not letting you off that easily." She wasn't sure if it was a threat, her last stab at defiance, or irrational words spoken straight from her splintered heart. Anything was better than nothing. Half-full was better than empty. Ignorance was the lowest form of humiliation and suffering. A feeling of violation swayed inside her, making her feel as if she'd been shoved off a high platform without warning. She was falling, and she feared the sensation far more than hitting bottom. There was no end; just a constantsense of gravity having its way with her. There's a disconnect between her mind and her heart, but she feels the truth. They say when people lose their vision, their hearing comes sharper. She's lost part of her memory but maybe her intuition is stronger._

_His were the kind of eyes that held secrets. The kind that lied without flinching. The kind that once you looked into them, it was hard to break away. She couldn't escape him, now or ever. He'd always be there, consuming her every thought, her heart locked in his hands. She was drawn to him by forces she couldn't control, let alone escape. Right now, she had everything she could ask for. It wasn't a long list, but it was a very satisfying one, starting with the love of her life back in her arms. "My history is long, and not much of it is good. I can't erase it, but I'm determined not to make another mistake. Not when the stakes are high, not when it comes to you." It was the only thing she could think of, to get him to even remotely turn around. And when he didn't, defiance rose again, and she found herself spitting out words that probably would of landed her six feet under. "I learned that I was either crazy in love with you, or putting on the best performance of my life."_

_His muscles flexed under his clothes as he turned to look at her, before he crossed the space and before she knew it, he was holding her, leading her. Never letting her stray far. "Angel", he murmured, clasping her face between his hands. "I don't think you understand the lengths I would go to if it means keeping you here with me." There was gravel in his voice - a sensation rippled through her when he talked._

Eva woke up, gasping for air. The sun was the only indication that it was morning.

Her vengenence still seeking it's victim. Eva was not done with Katherine Pierce. Hatred is a bitter, damaging emotion. It winds itself through the blood, infecting its host and driving it forward without any reason. Its view is jaundiced and it skews even the clearest of eye sights. Sacrifice is noble and tender. It's the action of a host who values others above himself. Sacrifice is bought through love and decency. It is truly heroic. Vengeance is an act of violence. It allows those who have been wronged to take back some of what was lost to them. Unlike sacrifice, it gives back to the one who practices it. Love is deceitful and sublime. In its truest form, it brings out the best in all beings. At its worst, it's a tool used to manipulate and ruin anyone who is stupid enough to hold it. Don't be stupid, sacrifice is for the weak. Hatred corrupts. Love destroys. Vengeance is the gift of the strong. And Eva was full of vengeance. Move forward, not with hatred, not with love. Move forward with purpose. Take back what was stolen. _Make those who laughed at your pain pay. _Not with hatred, but with calm, cold rationale. Hatred is your enemy. _Vengeance is your friend_. Hold it close and let it loose. May the gods have mercy on those who have wronged her because she will have no mercy for them.

Eva glanced around - the bed had been slept in, on the other side. Okay, so where was Damon then? She swung her legs off the bed and stumbled to the door, the bright sun irritating her eyes. She walked down the stairs, but heard nothing. Opening the front door, she was greeted by Damon, Stefan and Elena. All of them as stunned to see the other. "Sneaking out on me?" Damon quipped, raising an eyebrow.

Eva scoffed. "And where would I go?" She questioned, raising an eyebrow at her.

"I like her." Elena grinned. "You've gotta admit, Damon. She has you whipped."

"Oh, ouch." Stefan put his two cents in, laughing.

"I'm not going to like you as a vampire, am I?" Damon questioned, giving Elena a pointed gaze.

"I need to get some new clothes." Eva looked down at the same outfit she'd been wearing for the past three days. They were clean, for the most part. But she didn't have anything else to wear.

"Oh, you should come over to my house! I have loads of clothes that would look good on you." Elena smiled, linking her arm with Eva's.

"Careful, Eva." Damon smirked. "You've got yourself a new shopping buddy."

"Anything else, Damon?" Eva spoke as she was being dragged out of the boarding house by Elena.

"Yes." Damon grinned, kissing her softly. "I want you to come back to me at the end of this, so stay alive."

Eva snickered while Elena looked angry. She quickly pulled the new vampire away before one of the boys lost a limb. "Bye!"

A few minutes later and Elena had parked her car, while Eva got out of the passenger side. "I like the house."

"Me and Jeremy are still remodeling after all the deaths and destruction." Elena sighed as she walked up the front porch, Eva following behind her.

When they reached her room, Elena started a pile of clothes on the bed, starting with some shoes. "I know this is a sore subject, but you were pregnant at such a young age?"

"I was in my early twenties, Elena. They started them young back in the day. I didn't plan on it, trust me. It just happened. And I didn't second guess it. I wanted to give Damon a family. I sorta pressured him into having sex with me before our wedding." Eva said sheepishly. "I couldn't wait. He was gentle... sweet... kind, even. Roses were waiting for me every holiday, and even on random occasions. It was sweet."

"Damon deserves you, you know." Elena said, throwing another summer dress in the pile of clothes for Eva. "I picked Stefan, because that was what I thought was best - Stefan was safe. Damon was like uncharted territory. Then... I was turned and all these memories and feelings came back - feelings and memories that Damon made me forget. I want to hate him for that, but I can't. I just feel bad that I strung him along like Katherine did."

"How do you control it? You've only been a vampire for a few days now, how are you not affected by it?" Eva asked, raising an eyebrow, much like Damon does.

"..I don't know. I seen what it did to Stefan and I always told myself 'If it happens to me, I refuse to go down like that. I refuse to be that evil.' Because I hated Stefan for a little while, while he was a ripper. I hated it. I hated what he had become."

By the time they finished chatting, Eva and Elena had a big bag of clothes for Eva. Eva was just getting ready to leave when Elena stopped her. "Wait, lemme doll you up a little."

"Why?" Eva was surprised.

"It's been awhile since I've had someone new around. Plus, I was to see what this looks like on you." She pulled out a bag and unveiled a long, flowing, one strap black gown. "We can surprise Damon with it."

"You would do that for me?" Eva asked, "You don't know me, though."

"I know you made Damon happy -" Elena replied, "- and that's all that counts."

Eva spent twenty minutes in Elena's make up chair, while Elena worked her 'magic'. She finally got herself into the dress. It was a little tight, but it showed off her curves like there was no tomorrow and the slit in the side, would make Damon jump for joy, Elena had told her. Her hair was pinned up, with a few strands of hair dangling down in curls. Her make up was simple, yet elegant. Elena helped her put her heels on, before standing.

"Perfect." Elena grinned.

_Damon was going to die twice over when he sees her in this dress_, she thought, giddy with excitement.


	9. Only If For A Night

When Eva walked into the boarding house and stepped into the living room, she was surprised when _both _brothers had a look of sheer surprise on their faces. Damon cleared his throat, bringing both of them out of their stuper. "You look... _wow._." That was all that could come out of his mouth. Elena walked in a few seconds later, carrying the bag of clothes. Eva managed to give her a smile before Damon scooped her up in his arms to give her a loving kiss. It was a sensual one, to the least.

"Damon-they're watching us." She inclined her head toward Stefan and Elena, who bashfully looked away when she spoke.

"So?" Damon grinned, kissing her again.

"We're-I'm going to teach Elena some more things about being a vampire... Come on, Elena." Stefan dragged her away before she could protest.

"Do I get to rip the dress away from that body of yours?"

"Absolutely not."

"Damn." Damon replied, leaning his forehead against hers. "You sure?"

"I'm sure, Damon. This is Elena's loaner."

"...Well, no wonder Stefan gets all the fun."

Eva smacked him on the chest.

_Been hurting for a long time feeling my heart torn open from the lack of humanity. Insanity on both sides reaping the path that guarantees our own extinction._

He had kissed her again, and she was lost to him. He tasted her, stroked her tongue with his own. Damon nipped at her lips and flicked them with his tongue until she was left breathless, her hands cupping his face as she gave her mouth willingly to his plunder. And Damon took it to his advantage. She felt the loss of his mouth as he lifted his head, but he soon put those soft, warm lips to work kissing her cheek, nibbling at her earlobe and tracing a burning trail down her neck. Damon scooped her up, one arm behind her back, the other behind her knees as he used his vampire speed to carry her up the stairs and into his bedroom. Kicking the door shut with his foot, He laid her down on his silk sheets, continuing his burning trail of kisses from her neck, down to her breast.

He lightly bit her nipples through the thin lawn, dampening the fine material with his tongue and mouth until her nipples stood taut against the silk fabric. Damon slid his hand beneath her and undid the zipper, pulling the one strap gown down to her hips. Every stroke of his tongue, every powerful pull of his lips sent an ripple of aching want through her. Eva thought she might never meet another man that could do what Damon did to her. Her hips arched against his thigh, seeking out the sweet pressure his body promised her. It didn't take long for Damon to get the gown off her, tossing it on the floor next to the bed. She was finally bare beneath him. "No under garments?" Damon teased, watching Eva turn a scarlet red under him.

Damon kissed her again, forcefully this time. He wouldn't give in to her yet. His hot fingers traced light designs on her flesh, ignoring the dampening spot that screamed for his touch. Eva arched her hips and reached down with her own hand to capture his, directing it to the apex of her thighs. Damon looked up at her, and it was then that she could see the fire inside his eyes, _inside his soul_. Finally, with a seductive laugh, he gave her what she craved from him the most. His mouth went back to her breast, sucking one tight, sensitive nipple in his mouth until she moaned out loud. Damon had managed to free himself from his clothing without interrupting the pleasure he was giving her.

As he teased and tormented her and her naked flesh, the pressure of his erected member slowly slipping into her inner walls was so powerful, that Eva groaned - a long, gravel sound. Damon shuddered at the sound. She was wet enough that he slid in easily and Eva sighed in delight at the intrusion. His thrusts were slow at first, curving until it found a spot that sparked the most intense sensation of pleasure from the vampire. The sensations aroused by him increased to a delirious degree that Eva might never move again. He raised his head for a moment and she met the bright, feral intensity of his gaze. His lips were moist, his cheeks flushed. Like a panther ready to pounce after not eating for months. Slowly but surely, the elder Salvatore quickened his thrusts.

Her fingers caught in his hair as her hips undulated under his assault. She had always felt there was some part of her that was more animal, rather than human. That was why she could never live in a world her father had fashioned for her. She wanted to be free, with no restrictions. Damon made that part of her come alive. He made her come alive with an animal that matched her own. He was her perfect match. She had oftened wondered what happened to him - if he was alive and well, or if he was dead over the years. Why hadn't she tried to find him? She figured someone had told him about the death of their child and that he'd never forgive her. But now, it was all so clear.

Whether he was aware of it or not, he had accepted her and changed her world with just his presence because her world hadn't be right until he entered it. This was the love she'd always wanted, a love she'd always _craved. _Ever since she was little, she wanted a fairytale love and granted, this was no fairytale love but it was the best she got. She was never letting go of him. There would always be a part of her that would love him for the rest of her days. And then some. She could feel her climax coming. A moan left her lips then, her finger nails digging into his back as she let go with a torrent of rippling and shuddering pleasure that took her breath with it's assault. Damon sensed it had been coming as he pushed between her internal walls with slick, blunt thrusts that sent shocks throughout her body. He withdrew and plunged, bringing her closer to another climax.

"Let go, Damon." Eva whispered breathlessly.

Damon's hips pistoned, thrusting himself into her with increasing urgency until he suddenly stiffened. There was a flicker of a moment, a moment where she felt him shudder as his back arched, a long, soulful moan that made her shiver. There was a moment of stillness, silence before Damon looked down at her, his icy gaze nearly turning pitch black with desire. She had done it. She had done this. It was a euphoric feeling, to say the least. He pulled out of her and rolled onto his side, cuddling her naked body close to him as he pulled the covers up over their entangled bodies.

She rested her head on his chest, breathing heavily. "Thank you."

"For what?" Damon asked, looking down at her.

"You're everything I thought you never were and nothing like I thought you could have been." Eva smiled, kissing the spot where his heart lay just beneath the surface. "I know you have feelings for Elena and they don't just go away at the snap of a finger, Damon. And oddly enough, I'm okay with that. And even now, I'm happy to say that I'll be there at the end of the day. For anything you need." She took his hand in hers, kissing the top of it. "I'm sorry I couldn't give you the perfect family, though."

"As long as you're here and happy, I'm okay with that." Damon replied, kissing the top of her head.

"I love you, Damon Salvatore."

Damon smiled, genuinely down at her. "I love you, too, Evangeliya Novakov."


	10. Faceless Man

"Damon, are you crazy?" Eva asked, after hearing his proposal of what they should do. She stared down at him, on one knee, holding her ring in between his fingers. He was proposing to her. _He was proposing_. Eva could barely believe what she was seeing... or hearing.

"I've been told I was never really sane to begin with, love." Damon smirked as she gave him a pointed look with her fiery gaze. "I want to do this, Eva. I want to do what we _were supposed to do, _over a hundred and fifty years ago."

"You have gone nuts." Eva was convinced now. "Have vampires ever been married before? Are we breaking some sort of unbalancing rule?"

A ghost of his old mocking smile touched his lips. "Would you just shut up and say yes?"

Eva stopped in her tracks, staring at him. "Did you just tell me to shut up?"

Rolling his eyes, Damon scoffed. "Figures you'd only hear me telling you to shut up." Damon's lips were tight and a muscle in his jaw twitched.

Eva giggled softly. She had upset Damon, it was clear as day as the small pout forming on his lips. He was cute when he did that. Hell he was cute every day of the week, there was nothing Damon did that she didn't find at least a little cute. He was amusing, to say the least, like a little kid that wasn't getting his way. Finally, she spoke with clarity, releasing him from his torture. "Yes." Damon's ears perked up, as he glanced at her, his face staying the same as it was before. "Yes. I'll marry you, again."

She watched his face light up in a odd non-Damon like fashion as he slid the ring on his ring finger. Very slowly and gently, Damon reached up to brush her tears away with his fingers that touched her like butterfly wings. Tears she hadn't known she let go. First one side then the other. Still, Eva stood entranced, mesmerized by the darkness of his eyes and the windows of light it seemed to hold. Then, just as gently, as if she were a precious vase, Damon drew her into his arms.

They said nothing at all. Anything they said would be too little, and not enough.

And then-something changed. The air turned cold. Suddenly, Damon stopped dead, frozen in mid-motion, as he turned his gaze to the window. He half turned, and Eva saw in that movement the extent of his anger. The faster-than-the-human-eye-could-follow assassin's spin and the complete muscular control that stilled it almost before it had started. He was looking out the window still, body poised as always for something. Right now it looked poised to attack.

A crash from downstairs brought them out of their happiness. Grabbing a stake from one of Damon's many hiding places, Eva raced downstairs - looking for the culprit. Stefan and Elena were on the floor, tied up. Stefan looked so weak. Their eyes told her to run. But that wasn't in her nature. Holding the stake firmly in her hand, she nearly jumped out of her skin when Damon's hands brushed against her back.

That was the last she seen of him before she felt the cold pang of Death come out of nowhere.

_The cards never lie, my last breath a sigh and now I think about if it's my time to die._

The last thing she remembered was looking at Damon's face, before everything went dark. The next thing she knew, she was vervained and tied up, with Stefan and Elena.

"Look, dear sister, the last one is awake."

_She knew that voice._

Opening her eyes to their full potential, Eva looked around. Samuel and Katherine stood side by side. There was someone else there though, someone she _didn't _recognize. But she was determined to find out. Another look around and she spotted Damon, his wrists bound over his head. He wasn't moving, which told her one thing. And that pissed her off as she struggled against the vervain laced chains. It burned and peeled her skin away from her wrists, but she didn't care.

"Evil bastard. You framed me in Florence!" She screamed, struggling against the ties that binded her.

Samuel merely laughed at her pitiful attempts at getting free. "This is true, yes. But I'm not the only one that has a vendetta against you, my sweet darling." He stepped forward, his finger tracing a light pattern on her jaw. "But for now, I'll let you watch... while I torture the rest of them - starting with the elder Salvatore." He turned swiftly and walked over to Damon, rousing Damon from his unrestful slumber.

"NO!" Eva screamed, struggling against the chains once again. But there wasn't a damn thing she could do about it. She was losing her strength quickly. She couldn't sit by and let Damon get hurt more than he already was. She wouldn't let that happen. Not now. Not after everything he accomplished. Not when he already cheated Death twice. This would not be the last time. He would not leave her. She wouldn't allow him to. There was a groan from Damon's side as Samuel pushed the blade against his chest.

"Do what you want to me, but let them go."

"NO! Samuel! Let him go! This has nothing to do with him."

"Oh but it does. I've seen the two of you together. You're his weakness, just like he's your's. Katherine already told me your past together."

Eva turned her dark gaze on to Katherine. "You would betray Damon? Stefan? You said you loved them. This is some sick twisted love, if you ask me."

She turned her gaze back to Damon and they locked eyes. Her eyes pleaded with him. His eyes pleaded with her. But then, something _snapped _inside of Damon. His eyes turned cold, dark. And she realized that the other person standing in the room, the one she didn't know of, was gone. "No-N-No-NO!" Stefan had seen the whole thing. So did Elena. Whatever creature that was, had taken over Damon completely. Damon wasn't Damon anymore. But the action gave Eva enough strength to withstand the pain as she pulled her arms apart, breaking the chains the held her down. With the speed of a vengeful vampire, She grabbed Katherine's head and twisted, snapping the doppelganger's neck. Samuel didn't see that coming, he was completely off gaurd when she dove her hand straight into his chest, clenching his heart between her fingers.

"Tell me what you did to Damon or I _swear to god_, I will rip your heart out and rip this town apart until it rains blood. _Then I'll blame you for it all._"

Samuel gave her a twisted, sadistic smile. "He's possessed, darlin'. Have fun trying to save him."

She ripped his heart out, letting the blood spill everywhere as he hit the ground with a thud. Elena and Stefan were staring at her in shock. She yanked the chains away from their skin, watching them fall. Then, she turned her gaze to Katherine, who was gaining conciousness. Taking the knife from Samuel's hand, she looked Katherine in eye. "Rot in hell." Plunging the dagger into her heart, Eva bent down to whisper her last words in her ear, "This is for my unborn daughter, you bitch." She watched Katherine's eyes, the life dying out in a matter of seconds.

And that was the last of Katherine Pierce.


	11. Lover To Lover

_Taking form in the glimmer in this tainted moonlight, Death approaches on this night._

"I got here as fast as I could.." Bonnie said, just as she shut the door of the Salvatore boarding house behind her, spell book in hand.

Everyone was gathered around. Caroline, Stefan, Elena, Eva, Jeremy, Matt, they were all gathered around a pale looking Damon. Eva stroked his forehead, running her fingers through his messy hair. Beads of sweat dripped down his forehead. Elena disappeared for a moment, returning with a damp cloth and handing it to Eva, who dabbed his forehead with it.

"What happened to him? Was he bit again?" They'd be screwed if he was bit again. Damon would surely die then.

"A vampire-possessed him. At least I think-I think it was a vampire." Eva explained. She wasn't sure what the hell it was, to be completely honest. She looked up at Bonnie, and the look she gave her made Bonnie's heart clench. "Can you fix him? I won't ask for another thing from you - just fix him." She turned away, to look down at Damon. "He's been through too much, to die like this. He's all I have left."

Everyone's heart broke in two then, at the sight of Damon and Eva. It was a scene straight out of a Shakespeare play. Romeo and Juliet, would be the better play. Damon was a dying Romeo and Eva was the sobbing, broken hearted Juliet. Bonnie knelt down beside Damon, her hands placed inches above his heart. Muttering a few incantations with her eyes closed, Bonnie attempted to revive Damon from his comatose like state.

_I hate feeling like this, I'm so tired of trying to fight this. I'm asleep and all I dream of is waking to you. Tell me that you will listen? Your touch is what I'm missing and the more I hide, I realize I'm slowly losing you. I'll never wake up without an overdose of you..._

Two exhausting hours later, Bonnie had used every spell in her book. With her head hung down, she turned to the rest of the group, shaking her head. Eva rested her head on Damon's forearm, her tears falling freely now.

_I don't wanna live. I don't wanna breathe, 'les I feel you next to me, you take the pain I feel, waking up to you never felt so real. I don't wanna sleep. I don't wanna dream, 'cause my dreams don't comfort me. The way you make me feel, waking up to you never felt so real._

"Please wake up... _please. _Fight this-whatever this is. Fight it, Damon. I know you're stronger than this. I love you, do you hear me, Damon Guiseppe Salvatore? I love you and I want you to fight this."

_I hate living without you, dead wrong to ever doubt you but my demons lay in waiting, tempting me away. Oh how I adore you, oh how I thirst for you, oh how I need you._

"If you love me, you'd better fight this." She swiped at her cheek with the back of her hand. "Because I fell in love with a man that would fight the sun if the thought took him, and I don't plan on letting him go."

"Tell- Tell me how- to fight this." Damon's barely audible whisper hit her ears, "-and I will."

For the first time since all this happened, a true smile curved her lips. "Do not let it take you. When you feel it, fight it. You are stronger than this." She ran her fingers through his hair gently. "You just need to hold on. We'll find a cure - I'll find a cure." She would believe that. She had to.

"The-cure." Damon slurred his words, as if Death was already breathing down his neck.

Eva nodded, "After that, the only thing you'll ever have to fight again, is me." She took his hand in hers, kissing the top of it. "I love you, Damon. I don't care what it takes, you are not leaving me. Do you understand me? I didn't get you back to lose you again."

His dark, dull gaze turned to her. A cold and pale hand reached up to touch her cheek. "Whatever happens, just know that-" Damon swallowed thickly. "-I love you, Eva."

She kissed him then, fearing it would be the last time she'd see him alive again. She didn't want him to leave her with a bad memory. His lips felt as sweet and soft as they always had, but there was darkness lingering just beneath them. A darkness that Eva was determined to fight off for him. The man brave enough to love her, was slowly being taken from her. It was in that moment, that Eva prayed. She didn't care how he was cured - she just knew she wanted him healthy and happy again.

"You are not going to leave me, not again. Not when we have a wedding to plan." She argued, wiping her tears once again.

There was a hint of a smile that touched his lips, before Damon Salvatore went still once again. More tears flowed as Elena came up to kneel beside Eva, pulling her into a hug. Eva cried on the new vampire's shoulder. And Elena didn't mind. Stefan looked like he'd been hit by a Mac truck, and it decided to back up and run him over a few more times to make sure it finished the job.

"Shhhh, we'll find a way to fix him." Elena whispered, soothing the vampire in her arms. "We always do."

Eva could only hope so. Otherwise, she would step into the sun to join him in Death.

"I found it! ..I think... I hope." Bonnie said.

Eva looked up from Elena's shoulder. "Found what?"

"A possession spell. And a reversal spell."

Bonnie used her hands to shoo Elena away as she knelt in front of Eva. "Knife please." She held her hand out while Stefan left and was back in a split second, handing her a dagger. She took Eva's hand. "I need another person that undeniably loves Damon."

All eyes fell on Stefan. He wasted no time in kneeling on the other side of Damon on the couch. Bonnie sliced Eva's hand first, then Stefan's. "Okay, I'm not sure if this will hurt the two of you... but I know it'll hurt the possessed."

Stefan and Eva looked down at Damon. Bonnie continued, "Eva, place your bloody hand on his chest, over his heart." Eva did as she was told, unbuttoning his shirt to press her bloody hand against his chest.

"Now you, Stefan, place your hand over her's." Bonnie watched as Stefan did the same. Taking a deep breath, Bonnie hovered her hands over theirs, just a mere inch away as she began to mutter a few words that neither Eva nor Stefan knew.

A red light seemed to burn just underneath Damon's skin, where their hands were. She could feel Damon's hand reach out for her's, and so she took it, letting him squeeze it. She could only hope that he wouldn't fight what they were trying to do. More muttering from Bonnie in another different language that she didn't even think existed any more and slowly, Damon's body started convulsing. It took Elena and Caroline to hold him down, while Stefan and Eva tried their best to help.

"He's refusing." Bonnie said out loud.

"Damon?" Stefan questioned.

"No, this other creature... the one that's possessing him. It's evil - pure evil. It feeds off misery." She raised an eyebrow, glancing down at Damon. "Now we can see why he was attached to Damon - his memories are nothing but misery."

"You can see his thoughts? Memories?" Eva asked.

Bonnie nodded.

"What do you see?" Eva asked, after a few moments of silence.

"I see the past - there's a man, a boy and a woman. She's pregnant.."

"That was before I was born." Stefan whispered, hanging his head in shame.

"There's another memory stuck to that one, it's from Damon's eyes... a woman taking him away from the scene... his mother, on the bed... Damon was calling out, screaming to stay. The woman on the bed stops her, asking her to bring him toward her one last time.."

"She whispers something in his ear; '_Protect him, Damon. Protect your little brother_.' is what she said. She runs her fragile hand through his hair one last time before the maid takes him away.." Bonnie spoke. Surprisingly, it made her feel bad for the vampire. It spoke volumes of his character. "There's another memory;" She spoke, diving deeper to try and retrieve it. This time, she spoke toward Stefan. "It's your father... there's screaming... Damon's on his knees... she's gone..."

Another memory flashed behind her eyes, one that she could tell was a few years later. As she silently watched, her heart broke in two. "Your father, he's beating Damon, using a horse whip. 'Run, Stefan, Run!' ... there's Damon, on the floor, bleeding. Your father was drunk... so drunk."

Bonnie opened her eyes to look at Stefan. "He was protecting you..."

Eva watched Stefan's face twist in pain. After all this time, Damon never hated him, He pushed his brother away to protect him. It all made sense to him now. Damon was protecting Stefan from the cruelty of their father. Their mother was gone, there was no one else to protect him. Eva reached over and touched Stefan's hand. "We'll fix him, Stefan."


	12. Ghosts

_To what do I owe this gift my friend? My life, my love, my soul? I've been dancing with the devil way too long and it's making me grow old._

"What other memories is this thing feeding off of?"

Bonnie took Eva's other hand silently and suddenly, it was as if she were watching a picture show, but instead, Eva was watching Damon's memories. There were a few of his father. Some of Katherine. But there was one that stood out to her. She watched carefully.

_He heard the news. He hadn't believed it, but he had to find out for himself. Taking one of his father's horses, Damon rode into town as fast as the horse would allow, leaving Katherine staring at his retreating back, a sour look on her face. Damon prayed. He prayed it wasn't her. But his worst fears had come true, the second he saw her body being carried out. He could recognize her jet black hair out of anyone. Her neck was tore open on the right side, the blood still dripping out. _

_"No." Damon whispered softly._

Eva could _feel _Damon's heart break in two in that moment.

_There was a wake that was held for her. The body couldn't be released yet - due to the medical examiner wanting to find out what kind of animal did this. That didn't mean everyone wasn't allowed over at the Salvatore estate to pay their respects to the dead, by visiting her fiancee. Damon suffered through it, as much as he could. Eva's father was distraught, but even Damon could sense that he was only putting on a show of theatrics. Instead of wearing black, Marika Novakov, sister of Evangeliya Novakov, wore a white gown with a simple black bow tied around her waist. Marika gave her condolences to Damon, smiling sadly at him before pulling him into a hug._

"That bitch." Eva growled.

Everyone raised an eyebrow at her, but she said no more as she continued to watch.

_Across the room, Katherine stood, watching Marika play it up to the townspeople. She caught Katherine's eye and pranced over to her friend. "Everyone here sounds so delicious, I can barely contain myself."_

_"Calm yourself. We still have work to do, if you're going to win Damon over so that I can have Stefan all to myself. Your sister didn't make it easy for you."_

_"She never does. ... will she wake?"_

_"Soon." Katherine smirked. "Then Samuel will be after her and not you."_

_The memory ended there, fading to black, like a movie ending._

Eva opened her eyes, realization covering her face.

"It all makes sense now..."

"What?" Stefan asked.

"Katherine. Everything. Damon... he was starting to figure it out. He knew my father was an idiot. Samuel wasn't after me - he was after my sister. My sister must've pissed him off to a point- My sister. She's alive. ... She's a vampire, Stefan! Marika loved Damon... I got in her way... She met Katherine. Katherine turned her. Then... Marika attacked me... she attacked me to finish the transition. Katherine told her to. I remember now! The lady at the shop gave me tea. That must be how they got the blood in my system!"

Eva pondered on her thoughts for a moment. "Samuel said something to me, when he framed me... something about his brother-that must be it! Marika must've killed his brother. And since we're similar, Katherine sent him after me instead of her!"

A flash of anger covered her thoughts. "_Oh, I'm going to kill her._"

"I'm not quite sure I'm following all this." Stefan admitted. "How does this help Damon?"

Eva smirked, leaning over Damon to whisper to Stefan. "If it's Marika that is doing this, then she must have a powerful witch on her side. I find the witch... I find _her_."

Eva stood quickly, taking off to find some weapons.

"Eva, wait!" Stefan stood, following her. He found her a minute later, in the dungeon. "How are you going to find her?"

"I don't know. All I know is that I have to save Damon. I owe him that much."

"Why?"

Eva turned to Stefan. "Because Stefan, this is my fault. Damon's turning? My fault. Markia? My fault. If I hadn't gotten close to Damon, Marika would of never went this far. Katherine wouldn't have went this far. I owe it to him, Stefan." Eva sighed, throwing stakes and knives into the bag. "Hell, I owe it to you, too."

Stefan turned her around to face him. "As long as you're willing to stay with Damon, Eva, you don't owe me anything."

"Why? Because I keep his interest off Elena?"

"No." Stefan said, suddenly hugging her tightly. "Because you bring out the humanity in Damon that's been long gone. The humanity that was lost, when he lost you."

Eva pulled away from him for a second. "Thank you."

"No, Eva." Stefan gave her a lopsided smile. "Thank you."

"Take care of him, while I'm gone."

Stefan nodded, making her a silent promise.

She left the dungeon a moment later, revenge the only thing on her mind. Grabbing her leather jacket, she caught the keys that Stefan tossed her. Eva walked out back, to the garage. Lifting the door, she clicked the button, her face lighting up in a grin as the ferrari came to life. The slick, black paint job shined under the lights of the garage. Tossing her bag of weapons in the passenger seat, Eva pulled on her leather jacket, welcoming the feeling of the coarse leather on her skin.

A moment later, everyone had come out to see what the commotion was.

"Nice ride, Stefan." Eva commented, smirking. "I didn't think of you as a Ferrari man."

"It's not mine." Stefan retorted, grinning. "It's Damon's."

_Figures, _She thought.

Eva got into the car, sliding into the driver's side like it was made for her. The engine revved as she put her foot on the gas.

"Where are you going?" Elena asked.

"To take care of something." Eva replied.

Stefan pulled Elena toward him just before Eva took off, burning rubber out of the garage. She took off into the forest for cover.

Not that any cop would be able to catch her anyway.


	13. Overburdened

_She'll put a bullet in your heart, just to feel the thrill._

It took her a few hours, but it wasn't hard to find Marika. Even as a vampire, her sister was predictable. The forest they used to play in, was still intact. Eva stood in the clearing - the Ferrari a few yards away from her, under the cover of the darkness. She could remember a time where her and Marika used to chase each other around this forest for hours after church, only to anger their father for getting so filthy. Now, the forest was a mere disgusting memory to her.

"I knew you were too smart for your own good." Marika's voice filled the forest.

"You didn't think I'd figure it out?" Eva countered, "That's pretty stupid of you, considering the plan was your's and not Katherine's."

"I overheard you and one of the maids talking about feeling ill." Marika began, stepping into the moonlight. "I knew, then. I had to do something. Damon loved me."

"Damon pitied you." Eva growled.

"In the end, Katherine won."

"Katherine's dead, Marika. Your plan is over. You don't have the puppet master any more to pull your strings. Tell me how to end this possession on Damon and I'll spare your pitiful life."

"Damon doesn't deserve you." Marika said, venom dripping from her words as she took off after Eva.

Eva jumped, twisting her body in the air, before landing on her feel behind her sister. She blocked every punch, every move Marika tried to throw at her. "You..will..not..win, Marika!" Eva shouted as she pushed the vampire off her. She ducked when Marika went to swing, jabbing one of her knives that she had tucked away in her boot, into Marika's side. A screeching scream pierced her ears, causing Eva to lose her senses for a moment.

That was all Marika needed.

She pulled the knife from her side, kicked Eva in the chest, knocking her to the ground. Straddling her waist, Marika held the knife against her sister's throat.

"Wait." Eva hurried to speak. "I'll make you a deal."

_My conviction is stronger today, as I fight to uncover your sacred lie and the fear isn't going away, as the soldiers still die. Let your followers know their lives have been sold, for the good of your sacred lie, for the truth to be told and the plan to unfold._

"Is that right?" Marika quipped. "A deal of what kind?"

"I'll take you to Damon... if you promise to fix him." Eva swallowed hard against the knife. She could feel a trickle of blood seeping out of the wound that formed on her neck. "Then, I'll leave. I'll leave once I know he's safe. I'll leave town. Hell, I'll even leave the country."

Marika seemed to ponder this deal for a moment and it was all Eva needed. She rolled over, this time, holding the knife against her sister's throat. Surprise was written all over Marika's face as Eva smirked. "You didn't really think I'd let you take over my life, did you?"

Eva took her sister's face in her hands and twisted, hearing the sickening crunch of her neck being snapped.

_This self discovery, redemption taking hold of my mind. A serenade of haunting voices, calling me away, to feast upon the night. The source of my Felicity, dark maiden taking hold of my hand, lead me away from hibernation, strong and unafraid. Never a question why._

Eva only had a few hours to get back to Damon before Marika regained her consciousness. It only made her push the Ferrari to go faster. As she pushed the Ferrari to it's limits, Eva could only hope that Damon would hold on a little bit longer.

_All my devotion betrayed, I am no longer afraid. I was too blinded to see, how much you've stolen from me. You want to know why I feel so horrified? I've let my innocence die. You want to know why I can't be pacified? You made me bury something._

Elena dabbed the cool wash cloth over Damon's forehead as everyone else held a vigil for Damon. Matt, Bonnie and Jeremy went home, for their human minds were too tired to stay awake any longer. Caroline stayed. As much as she hated Damon Salvatore, she felt as though she owed him for giving her his blood when she was injured. He did it because Elena told him to, but nonetheless, Caroline felt she owed him. And she would watch over him.

Elena stayed, because it was the right thing to do, after everything she'd witnessed the last few days. There was a part of her that would always love Damon. And she could only hope that Eva would find a way to bring him back. There was no world, if there was no Damon in it. He was a constant part of her life, she wouldn't let him die now.

The reasons why Stefan kept watch over his older brother were obvious. Stefan felt a new found emotion toward Damon. Instead of hating him, like he always thought Damon did, Damon loved him to a point where he was protecting him from his father. Suddenly, how Stefan fed on his father didn't seem so bad anymore. It was a perfect payback for an evil man that twisted the people around him. There were no words for how much hatred he felt for his long dead father. After all this time, Stefan hated Damon for the cruel and evil things he did to people, when really, he should of been mad at their father for setting Damon in his ways of cruelty.

A groan brought everyone out of their thoughts. Damon's body twisted in agony. Whatever pain he was in, was much more than physical. It was the first time that the three vampires saw Damon's evil facade fall completely, showing a much more vulnerable and child-like side to the elder Salvatore. Stefan sat on the edge of the couch, next to his brother, his hands pressing down on Damon's chest.

"Damon-can you hear me?" Stefan called out, but got no answer. Damon's fingers clawed at Stefan's arms, attempting to forcefully remove them, but Stefan stood his ground.

"It hurts.." It was Damon's voice.

Stefan sighed in relief. Damon was still in there. His brother's body still continued to twist in agony, as the creature attempted to take hold of Damon completely. The only thing Damon wouldn't part with was his love for Eva and his brother. It was the only part of his soul that the creature could not reach, could not steal from Damon. Tears were falling freely down Damon's face now, his eye lids only partly open. Stefan could still see the blue of them, though. As long as he could see the blue, there was still time, still a chance to save Damon.

As the convulsions continued, Stefan watched in torture. The only thing Stefan could do to comfort his brother was draw him into his arms, hoping to soothe him in the least. Like a broken child, Damon clung to his brother, his heart of stone slowly breaking away to reveal a tortured soul. "Hang in there, Damon." Stefan whispered. _Please hang on. _His clouded mind begged. There was one breath, a slow, deep breath that came from the older Salvatore before the world sat in silence.

It was then, that the door to the Salvatore boarding house opened and Eva stepped in, carrying her sister over her shoulder. Throwing her unconscious body on the ground, she turned to Caroline. "Keep an eye on her." She walked over to where Stefan was cradling Damon, her heart breaking with each passing second. The look in Stefan's eyes told her everything and she forced herself not to break down. She had a job to do. She still had to see if this still would work.

"Lay him down."

Stefan did as she requested, laying his brother back against the cushions.

She took the blade out of her boot, tearing Damon's shirt open with one pull. Placing the blade in in the middle of his chest, she pushed down, pulling the blade down to his navel, creating an even incision. Then, without hesitating, Eva sliced her own hand, handing the knife to Stefan as she slid her hand inside his chest, slipping past his other organs to reach his heart.

Wrapping her fingers around his heart, Eva gave a silent pray to whoever was listening before she pinched her fingers together, squeezing his heart.

Eva watched Damon's face intently, searching it for any kind of movement or sign of life.


	14. Rise

_Rise, throw away the charade of your life. Let the flame of my heart, burn away your complacence tonight. I command you to rise, wash away the decay of your life, feel the light of your eyes. Find the way through the darkness tonight._

She squeezed his heart again.

Nothing.

Eva was losing hope, but she tried again. Squeezing Damon's heart, she jump started it. And this time, it worked. Damon drew a long, ragged breath as Eva removed her hand, watching his chest close with invisible stitched. One thickly lashed lid opened, revealing a weary gaze, and then closed again. She smiled at him, before standing.

Disappearing into the kitchen, Eva went to the sink to wash away the blood.

Stefan had told Elena to keep an eye on Damon before following her. "How did you know how to revive him?"

Without turning around, Eva explained. "Damon wasn't possessed. He was cursed. The witch was there, that night with Katherine and Samuel. She had to get into Damon to curse him. I found the witch, but she was already dead - her throat torn open. I suspected it was Marika, so I followed her scent to this old place we used to go to when we were children." Eva grabbed some soap and scrubbed her hands. "I snapped her neck so that I could get inside her head. It's one of those secret clause fairytale type curses." Eva scoffed, turned her head a fraction to look at Stefan over her shoulder. "You know, true love fixes everything."

"Still." Stefan said, "Thank you."

Eva dried off her hands, turning to face Stefan. "You know, I used to believe in fairy tales." She looked down as she continued to dry her hands off - as if it each time she tried, wasn't enough. "I used to believe that I'd find someone, settle down and have a family. I almost had that, Stefan. I was this close-" She pinched her fingers together to show him how much she was close to her dream. "-but then, my sister thought it would be fun to watch me die. To kill my unborn child, because she wanted what I had. It wasn't right, but she did it anyway. She fucked up my life. She fucked up your life, and Damon's. When I met Damon and he took interest in me, I felt like Cinderella finally meeting Prince Charming."

Stefan cracked a smile.

"Shut up." Eva chastised before continuing. "I was never enough for my father. Marika got everything because she was the last thing my mother gave my father before dying. I felt connected with Damon because he and I weren't so different."

"But you came back." Stefan argued. "You came back to him."

"But he's in love with Elena." Eva countered. "I told him it didn't bother me, and it doesn't... to a point. But I can't help but feel I'm just being a replacement."

Stefan was about to answer her, tell her she was wrong when he was interrupted by another.

"You're not a replacement, Eva." Damon said, standing in the door way, in the flesh. He was pale and sickly looking, but he was alive.

"Damon. I-"

"It's okay." Damon began, leaning on the door frame for support. "I know how you feel. I understand."

Stefan raised an eyebrow at his brother. "You do?"

"He's the only person that would." Eva replied, smiling softly at Damon.

She walked over to him, slinging an arm around his waist. "You need a bath." She turned to look at Stefan. "Will you take my sister and lock her up in the dungeon?"

Stefan nodded as they walked out of the kitchen.

It took a little bit longer than it would have to reach Damon's room. But they made it. Damon hissed in pain when he sat down on his bed.

"Sore?" Eva questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"A little."

She went to the mini fridge that Damon had in his room and took out a few blood bags, holding them in her arms as she went to his closet to get him some fresh clothes.

"Thank you."

"For what?" Eva asked as she walked into the bathroom, laying everything out on the counter top.

"For saving my life."

She returned from the bathroom to stand in front of him.

"You're welcome, then." She held out her hand for him to take. "Now, let's get you in that bath."

Damon took it, standing slowly.

Eva wrapped her arm around his waist, making sure he'd make it to the bathroom safely.

"As long as you join me."

She rolled her eyes at the cockiness in his voice. He was slowly returning back to the old, sarcastic and cocky Damon that she knew and loved. She made Damon lean against the counter while she ran the bath water, putting one of the many bubble solutions in the bath. It was strange, how much the vampire enjoyed bubble baths.

Once the water was high enough, she watched Damon strip his clothes off and step in, sinking his body under the water. Slowly, his color began to regain it's pink-ish flesh tone. Grabbing one of the blood bags off the counter, Eva stripped off her own clothes and stepped into the water, sitting on his lap.

"This should help you regain your strength." She said as she pulled the cap off and took a sip of it before handing it to him.

Damon drank it like a fine wine, letting it slip under his tongue.

"How do you feel?"

"I'm getting there.." Damon replied, smiling gently at her.

"Good, because I have something to tell you..."

Damon raised an eyebrow at her.

"Let's say, theoretically speaking, that I found a way that Bonnie could possibly make us human?" Eva searched his face. "I don't know if it's true, or if it would work, or even if Bonnie could perform the spell. When I was inside my sister's head... attempting to get information out of her, I found out that the witch she knew and killed, had a spell that could turn a vampire into a human again." She reached over the edge of the tub and took a piece of paper out of the front pocket of her jeans. Opening it, she handed it to Damon. "I figured... if you were sick of the vampire life... and you wanted to grow old and die, we could see if it worked."

"Eva.." Damon breathed, putting the paper back into her jeans. "...I've been wondering something."

"What?"

"Is the only reason you're bringing this up, is because you want be human and grow old, or because you want to be able to have children again?"

_Busted_.

"I miss her, Damon." Eva confessed. "I miss her _so much_. I was scared at what everyone might think, but I felt complete for the first time in years, when I found out."

Damon brushed away a tear that slid down her cheek. "If it's what you wish, I'll do it."

"You don't miss being human?"

"Oh I do," Damon confessed, honestly. "I do miss it. But it's cool not growing old - I like being the eternal stud."

A short laugh left Eva's lips. "Only you, Damon Salvatore. Only you."

He leaned down and kissed her lips gently. "I like being a vampire, because we could do whatever we wanted to each other and we'd heal," He snapped his fingers. "-just like that."

Only he would change his mind about his humanity. Damon like the vampire side of him too much. There was something that lurked underneath the surface in him. It liked it there. It refused to come out of hiding in the darkness that was still in Damon's soul.

"It was worth a shot." Eva said, shrugging her shoulders.

Damon smiled, taking her wrist in his hand. Holding his wrist out to her, his fangs extended and he bit into her wrist. A soft moan was heard before he felt the numb pain of her fangs sinking into his own wrist. And with a moment of silence, Damon and Eva exchanged thoughts and memories. A secret way of communicating with each other without other ears hearing their secrets they didn't want anyone else to know of. It was their secret way. Some things were better left unspoken. Eva let Damon see what happened while he was cheating Death once again, while Damon let her see more of the memories that the curse was feeding off of.

Retracting her fangs, Eva pulled away from his wrist, coming up for air. Her face stayed vamped out as she turned her gaze to Damon sucking on her wrist. There was so much about him that she loved. So much. But the only thing that she loved more, was how ruthless he could be one minute, and be a complete gentleman the next. She liked how he had control over his vampirism. Plus, she liked how he pleasured her without even realizing it. She could feel the blood, and the memories seeping through the two puncture wounds on her wrist as Damon drank from her.

_She was stuck cleaning the house, just like any other day. It was the same thing over and over, while her little sister got daddy's attention and got to go to all the parties while she was stuck at home, doing nothing but cleaning. Until that one day. Until that one day that this man stood on her front steps while her sister and father were gone._

_"Can I help you?" She asked._

_"I was looking for Sir Novakov. My father wanted to speak to him."_

_"He's not here right now."_

_"Pardon my inability of using manners before business." Damon said, extending his hand toward her. "I'm Damon. Damon Salvatore."_

_Slipping her hand into his, she watched as he kissed the top of it, bowing slightly. "I'm Evangeliya. Evangeliya Novakov."_

He retracted his own fangs a few moments later, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

"You went through my whole life." Eva gave him a pointed look.

"Couldn't resist. I was curious to see how you felt about me when you met me."

"I thought you were a prat." Eva smirked.

"That may be true," Damon replied, "But I had you under my spell the moment you met me."

"Yeah," Eva agreed. "Damn you for that, too."


	15. Good With The Bad

A few days had gone by without any problems. No supernatural creatures. No hybrids threatening to blow their house down. Nothing. Nothing but peaceful silence. Marika had been locked away in the dungeon by Stefan, as a request from Eva. Her body was slowly desiccating. She'd be dead before long, and then Eva would put her where their father is buried, in the family crypt. She's spend the rest of eternity with the insufferable idiot that she dared to call her father. Elena had made her point known that Damon needed to marry Eva already.

"Why are you in such a rush?" Damon quipped as he handed her a freshly washed dish.

"Because Damon, you almost died." Elena said, towel drying the plate before putting it away in it's proper place.

"I die every other month, your point?" Damon shrugged.

Elena rolled her eyes. "I'd like to see someone be happy and I think Eva deserves a little happiness."

Damon couldn't deny that. He'd been waiting to be reunited with the woman for a hundred and fifty years. Secretly, of course. There was a part of him that loved her more than Katherine knew. He played with Katherine to get back at his brother and to try and take his mind off his long lost love, only to find out that his long lost love wasn't really lost all along. Eva was wrong in all the right ways. She accepted him. Adored him, even. And there was a part of her that brought out the good side in him. She was a risk taker - she would die to protect him. Just like he'd die to protect her. Damon felt different now. His best friend was back in his life. Was he good now, forever? He wasn't sure. The monster that lurked in him was still stirring. It still liked to come out and play every once in a while.

"I saw that look, Damon." Elena said, nudging him with her hip. "Careful, I might start to think you actually care again."

"Wouldn't want that." Damon said sarcastically, earning a smack on the arm from Elena.

"-Yeah but you lost that round with the deer." Eva argued, entering the kitchen with Stefan.

"You dove for the squirrel and lost, and you're arguing about my loss?" Stefan snorted under his breath.

"Oh, come on, Salvatore. Don't be such a wuss." Eva grinned, poking him in the chest as she walked by him.

"Me? A wuss? Pffft."

"You are sorta wimpy." Damon interjected.

"Damon!" Elena shouted, smacking him in the arm again.

Eva walked over to Damon and wrapped her arms around his waist. "He's still recovering Elena, don't hit him." She joked, grinning.

"You know, you two really don't need marrying - you act like a married couple already." Elena rolled her eyes.

"A hundred and fifty years in the making, Elena." Damon gave her a wink.

"_The originals are back in town_!" Caroline shouted, walking through the kitchen, to stop next to Stefan.

"What?" They all asked in union.

"Rebekah, Kol, Elijah and Klaus - They're back."

"I understand Blondie, Kol and 'Lijah, but how is Klaus back? Alaric killed him!" Damon argued.

"Bonnie had those visions again. Mystic Falls sign and the four Originals. She thinks Rebekah found a witch to undo whatever happened to Klaus."

Okay, so somehow, the Originals - or what was left of them - were back in town? This day just got a lot more grim looking. The battlefield was laid out, the armor was drawn. The plays were set up and now, it was time for war. There was never a dull day in Mystic Falls. It was true when everyone said this place was a nothing more than a horrible supernatural creature magnet. And it was all because of the Doppelganger. Eva liked Elena... to a point. But right now, she wished the damn doppelganger would die already.

What was so special about this one that made all the vampires just want to eat her alive - inside and out? If it wasn't for her, half the shit that's happened already, wouldn't have happened. Damon wouldn't have almost died, Stefan would be normal again, no Ripper side of him showing. But no. The brothers had to fall for her, because she looked like Katherine and she was the Petrova Doppelganger.

"We have to get you two out of here." Damon said, looking at Eva and Elena.

"What?" Eva gave him a pointed look. "I can understand Elena, but I'm not going anywhere."

Damon gave her a look that said it all; _Damn you and your stubbornness. _"Eva-"

"No, Damon." She stood her ground. "I won't leave."

Damon looked at his brother for some help, but Stefan merely threw his hands up in defeat.

Sighing, Damon agreed. "Fine. We'll assume that they want revenge - it's what they're good at - so humans and witches first - get them the hell outta Mystic Falls."

Caroline left a second later to get Matt, Jeremy and Bonnie to a safe place.

"What about Elena?"

Damon looked at Stefan, raising an eyebrow. "You really want Klaus to find out she's a vampire and throw himself into a tantrum that could wipe Mystic Falls off the map?"

"Right." Stefan said, pulling Elena next to him. "Good point. I'll take her somewhere no one will find her." He left with her a moment later.

When they were out of earshot, Eva turned to Damon. "Why not just hand her over?"

"What?"

"Oh come on, Damon. None of this would of happened if it wasn't for the Doppelganger!"

Damon stared at her. "And here I thought you liked her."

"I do." Eva said. "To a point. But when it's because of her that you might get hurt or killed, that's where I draw the line."

Anger striked a match inside of Damon. "Glad you think so highly of me." He tried to walk past her, but she stopped him.

"What's your problem?"

"Is this because you don't want me to get killed or is it because you and Klaus had a thing?" Damon questioned, watching her face.

"..Damon."

She realized then, that when he'd been searching her memories that he must of found the ones from way back when. Ones that were so old, even she had a hard time remembering them clearly. The memories from before Eva knew Damon Salvatore was even alive, let alone in the same town as her.

"You really did go through my whole memories, didn't you? That wasn't what it looked like!"

"Then what did it look like, Eva? You were dancing _on him._" Damon argued, the veins under his eyes growing ever darker.

"That was in the twenties Damon! It was the only thing that I did to keep up with the human pace! I had to fit in somehow!"

"So, you decided to become a -"

"What's it to you, anyway? What does it matter what I did when you and I didn't even know each other were alive!" Eva interrupted, cutting him off.

"It's Klaus, Eva!" Damon yelled. "He's the most evil, sadistic, arrogant bastard to ever walk the earth!"

"And you're slowly getting to his level, Damon." Eva argued, narrowing her eyes at the vampire. "You know something, I'm glad I'm a vampire now. Because, now I can do this and it won't hurt me one bit." A quick raise of her hand and Eva had slapped him across the face. "That's for the thinking you can control me, when all I ever did was accept your arrogant ass!"

Storming past Damon, Eva walked out, walking past Stefan in the process. He raised an eyebrow at her but didn't speak, instead he looked over at Damon, with a pointed look. Once she was far enough away, Stefan spoke.

"I take it you said something stupid."

"She was having an affair with Klaus."

"Technically, she wasn't." Stefan said, holding up his hands when he saw his brother's evil look. "She thought you were dead, Damon. You two weren't even married, either. So just how can she be having an affair, if she thought you were dead? Besides, it's not like you didn't sleep with countless women when you thought she was dead. So you're no better, brother."

After the initial anger washed away, Damon Salvatore knew his brother was right. As stupid as he thought it was to admit, he knew Stefan was right. Who was he to judge someone else for things that were virtually the same to his mistakes?


	16. Monster You Made

_Help me if you can, it's just that this, this is not the way I'm wired so could you please help me understand why you've given into all these reckless dark desires.._

After an hour of searching for Eva, with no luck, Damon Salvatore headed for the dungeon. Unlatching the door, he stepped inside, as he bent down, holding the girl's head as he tipped one of the blood bags into her mouth. It took a minute or so before she caught on and was able to hold the bag herself. Still, it didn't satisfy her.

"What do- you want, Salvatore?"

Damon looked down at Marika. "I need your help. The Original pain in the ass is back in town and I'm fairly certain your sister went after him - you know, suicide mission."

"Why should I help you?" Marika snarled.

Damon pondered his answer for a minute, before speaking. "Because, even though you hate her sometimes -" He picked up another blood bag and popped the cap off, handing it to her. "- She's still your sister. Your blood." Damon looked at Marika - attempting to win the vampire over.

_The sun is set the rain has passed, who knew tomorrow wouldn't last. I wear the cross that bares your name, to wash away all the pain. Beneath the scars I'm torn apart, alone to mend this broken heart._

The battle had begun. This was it. This was the final battle. The battle that would decide who would win; Good or the Evil. Damon was determined to live through this. He didn't cheat death more than once to not live through this. He walked with Marika in silence, bags of weapons thrown over their shoulders. He didn't particularly like that he had awoken Marika - he was never fond of her to begin with - but they could use all the help they could get. "This should be a good spot to hide, Stefan said he'd distract the Originals, right?"

Damon nodded as he set his bag down.

"You and my sister are made for each other, you know that?"

"How do you figure?"

"You both are quiet when you're deep in thought, for one." Marika began. "You both are stubborn and hard headed. You both can't let go of your pride. The list goes on and on... Sorry I turned her... took her away from you."

"Don't apologize to me." Damon retorted, scoffing. "If we live through this, you should be apologizing to her."

There was a scream off in the distance, just over to the right. It sounded like Caroline. Damon adjusted his eyes to get a better look. Caroline was fighting off werewolves. Klaus had brought company. A bead of sweat trickled down Damon's forehead at the thought of fighting off werewolves. He'd beat that poison once before, what were the chances he'd be able to do it again? Marika handed Damon a jagged edged blade that curved with a handle that felt as though it were made for his palm. Another yell and Damon saw Stefan fly into the distance. He was about to get up, when he felt an hand on his arm.

Turning back to look at Marika, Damon narrowed his eyes at her.

"We have to wait." Marika said, "For once in your eternal life, Damon Salvatore, trust me. You said it yourself that I'm the only one that knows Eva better than anyone else."

A few more screams of pain and Damon's blood was boiling.

"Klaus!"

Damon stopped dead in his tracks.

Eva threw a werewolf off her, just as another vampire helped her back on to her feet. A few more unknown vampires and werewolves showed up a few seconds later. That's when Marika decided to move, pulling Damon along with her.

"You will not take over this town." Eva growled.

"Says who?" Rebekah questioned.

"Says me." Marika shouted, giving Rebekah a death glare as she walked over to stand next to Eva.

Taking her sister's hand, Marika stood tall against Originals. Eva gave her a shocked expression, to which Marika only squeezed her hand gently, leaning over to whisper in her ear. "Thank your soul mate over there." She inclined her head to where Damon stood, next to his brother. He cast a glance at her, before looking back at Klaus.

One of the rogue werewolves that Klaus had brought with him took their chance at the family reunion to charge at Eva. Something snapped in Damon as he charged at the werewolf. Marika moved just as fast - grabbing one side of the beast as Damon grabbed the other. Pulling, the werewolf split down the middle, leaving a carnage of blood and bones in it's wake. Veins darkened under Damon's eyes as the other werewolves on Klaus' side charged at them.

Damon let the beast out to play.

Stefan let his Ripper side out.

And Marika and Eva let their anger out as they fought off Rebekah.

Caroline had taken care of a few vampires, fighting them off until one got a hold of her, biting into her flesh. Eva managed to get away from Rebekah to tear it's head off it's shoulders before it got a chance to finish the job.

"Thanks for that." Caroline said as Eva pulled her up off the ground.

One of the werewolves jumped toward Eva, making contact with her chest. She let out an anguished moan and fell backward. Then, just as quickly, she rose to her feet and roared, her face suddenly flushed, her fangs on full display. It was all instinctual: Eva's Power rose to the surface as soon as she'd felt the attack. The werewolf leaped again, and Eva went low, ducking under and coming up at just the right moment to dig her hands into the werewolf's neck.

Damon felt himself go still, breaking the neck of the vampire he was fighting off.

After a long silence, Eva let out a feral growl and ran toward the werewolf. The werewolf growled in response and charged, but this time she stepped aside, and when the werewolf missed her, Eva hooked an arm up under the werewolf's neck. With strength no one seemed to expect, she threw the werewolf onto its back. She was about to dive on top and go in for the kill when the werewolf kicked up and drove it's claws right through her arm, like paper. She struggled to her feet, holding the wounded arm in place with the other. She wasn't healing as quickly as vampires usually do and she knew why too. She needed blood, that much was clear. Her survival instincts and the attendant adrenaline were waning. There were splotches of blood in the dirt.

Damon ran over to the werewolf, his fist going straight through it's chest before he pulled, ripping the heart of the werewolf out at the same time. He caught Eva before she hit the ground. Pulling the ripped fabric away from the wound, Damon winced. He could see all the way to the bone. That was the only thing holding her arm together, really.

There was something, something that audible _snapped _inside of Damon. Like a whole new set of powers had just been released from their cage. The blue in his eyes was no longer there - where it should of been, there was nothing but blackness. A universe could of been sucked through them. Damon turned to Klaus, and with a look of pure evil upon him, Damon Salvatore attacked, flying in mid air. Everyone gasped when they watched the vampire suddenly change. His body was no longer that of a vampire. Damon Salvatore was no longer the lean, muscular man that everyone knew him to be, instead, Damon Salvatore was a furry beast.

Everyone's jaws dropped at the sight.


	17. Land Of Confusion

Damon was padding around Klaus, as the original hunched, coiled, in the center of the circle, moving as little as possible while following him with his reflective eyes. Suddenly, Damon took off, moving at a blurred speed around the vampire so that the original had to rapidly turn and turn, as though chasing his own tail. A quiet came over the clearing, and only the heavy panting of Damon and Klaus echoed under the canvas of the moonlight. He circled Klaus, moving faster than -surprisingly - Klaus could comprehend. The whole clearing gasped as he slanted toward the original vampire and before Klaus could tell which direction Damon was coming from, Damon had him dead to rights as he sunk his larger-than-vampire-fangs into the original's neck.

Survival instincts and blood mixed in his mouth as bit down, blood appearing in the dirt in little red rivers. When Damon thought he had Klaus at a good angle, the vampire took out the stake that he had put in his belt. An extra white oak stake. He plunged it into the vampire's chest just as he retracted his fangs, blood dripping from Damon's mouth. He pushed the vampire over, onto the ground, watching with feral eyes as Klaus shriveled up to next to nothing. The next to go was Rebekah, poor thing never stood a chance against the still fury filled Damon. Her heart was ripped out before she had a chance to even register what was happening. Kol was the weakest point. He didn't even put up a fight as much as the other one. Damon had his heart in his hands in a matter of seconds. Elijah was the last to go - decapitated in a matter of seconds, his head falling to the ground, then his body a second later.

Everyone stared at Damon, his breathing rapid, as if he couldn't get enough air into his lungs to sustain himself. The air around him was magically charged with an electricity that no one dared to walk toward.

Except for Eva.

The vampire slowly walked over to Damon as he knelt down. "Damon?" Her voice broke as she knelt down in front of him. Taking his face with her good hand, she stared at him as if in a trance. Slowly, his face changed, his eyes returning to their world-of-possibilities blue. She gently brushed the hair off his face and slowly leaned in to kiss his lips.

"What the hell was that?" Marika was the first to break the silence.

All eyes were on Damon as he stood, bringing Eva up with him. Damon didn't answer her question, he merely walked past his brother, Caroline and Marika. They gave him a wide birth too, unclear on whether or not he'd snap like he did moments ago.

"Burn the bodies. I'm taking her home." Damon muttered softly, but everyone heard him loud and clear. And no one argued with the vampire, either.

_That dark brunette hair, Those deep brown eyes. She's enchanted you to your core. She can find your humanity. Violent and blood-soaked is your past, Does that matter now? She's here. You're the rule breaker. She's a risk taker. You're the poison; She's the antidote. Clad in sin itself, Shadows trail behind you and darkness writhes within._

They reached the manor in a matter of a few minutes. Damon had carried Eva half way toward the house when she stumbled a few times. She had lost so much blood, it was a wonder how she was still even standing. Laying her down on the couch, Damon brought a few bags of blood from the fridge over to her. While she drank the blood, Damon watched as the skin on her ripped up arm slowly closed itself with invisible stitches. "Good, you're healing." He stood, heading for the kitchen.

By the time he came back with a wash cloth to get rid of the dried blood on her skin, the others had come back. Carefully rubbing the blood off, Damon put his thoughts toward Eva, and not how the others would view him as.

_Drowning deep in my sea of loathing, broken, your servant I kneel. It seems what's left of my human side is slowly changing in me._

"He was bit by a werewolf before, drank Klaus' blood as the cure. Could this be a side effect?" Stefan questioned.

"Doubt it." Eva said. "In order to be a hybrid, you have to have both parts of the species in you. Vampire and Werewolf..." She looked up at Damon. "Which means...you must have werewolf genes in you before you were turned into a vampire."

Damon snorted. "Not possible."

Eva rolled her eyes at him. "Your mother could very well have had an affair... or perhaps Giuseppe Salvatore was a werewolf in disguise." She shrugged when she got a look from both Damon _and_ Stefan. "Hey, it would explain why he hated vampires and never wanted you two around them."

"Doesn't explain why he didn't sniff Katherine out, though." Damon muttered.

"I didn't say it was a good though, Salvatore." Eva snapped.

Damon had to admit, she did make sense. "Okay, say he was a werewolf... why didn't I... trigger it earlier? Why isn't Stefan one, too?"

"He could be your step-brother." Eva muttered. Before anyone could say anything else, she continued. "I think I found it." Eva said, handing Damon a book that she took out of the box she'd been sitting in front of for the past four hours. They had been searching for hours to find out what the hell happened to Damon back in the clearing.

"It's one of my mother's journals." He replied, flipping through it quickly.

Eva took the book from him and and flipped through the pages, trying to find a date, any date that was near the time Damon was born.

"Here."

She handed the book back to Damon and he looked down at the open page, the elegant handwriting standing out to him;

Dear Journal, the day is June 5th, 1841

I fear Giuseppe isn't telling me something. I can't put my finger on it, but I feel my heart clench everytime he is away.. But my mind can quickly focus on something else, now that Damon is here with me. The little baby is such a ball of sunshine. He smiles at everything and is so curious, it makes me wonder what the future holds for him...

He closed the book and shook his head. "That explains nothing."

"You just don't want to accept the fact that your father could of been a werewolf."

"Why should I?" Damon demanded. "The man never did a thing for me. My mother did. The only thing my father was good for was cracking a whip against my skin for hours on end."


	18. Tough Lover

"There has to be something!" Eva sighed, exasperated. Fifth day in a row, looking for whatever happened with Damon. And nothing. Nothing at all.

"Nothing." Stefan threw the book down with a growl.

Damon, though, was enjoying himself very well. "Ahhh, makes me nostalgic for the time when Stefan was a bunny sniffing pacifist."

Stefan gave his brother a glare.

He turned to Eva this time, smirking. "You ready to ditch this House of Horrors? Oh, you look terrible." He noted, regarding her reflection carefully. She looked like she could use a long bath and a dozen blood bags.

They had searched through all the books in the boarding house and nothing came up that was relevant toward Damon being his own brand of hybrid. It made him that much more cockier though. Eva wanted to smack him. Instead, the vampire merely stood and walked away - away from the problem and the searching. She needed some time to herself, some time to think by herself. Barely in her room and Damon knocked on the door. She had opened the door and stepped through the threshold, but before she could pull her hair out of the ponytaiL it was in, his sultry, silky voice floated to her ears. "Eva."

"Not now, Damon. I'm tired and I need a good night's sleep."

"I know." He said, and she turned around to face him, watching him lean against the door frame as she raised her eyebrow.

Damon grinned lazily at her, before something in him sparked and the next thing Eva knew, she was pulled against his hard body. Then he spoke again, this time, his voice velvety and sensual. The scent of alcohol lingered on his breath. Bourbon. Of course. His special brand. "You've maddened me for you... have changed everything." That was very odd of Damon to say, Eva noted. That was very 1864 Damon.

Then, Damon bent his head down to whisper in her ear, whisper things in her ear that made her blush scarlet red. "So, I'm going to make love to you long and hard, beauty, because if I'm to be enslaved by you-I want to be your master as well."

Eva could hardly believe what she'd just heard. Damon. Confessing his love for her? This must have been some twisted reality. Some out of this world shit that nightmares are made of. But it wasn't. It was what she dreamed of. Eva held her breath as Damon pulled her into a fiery kiss. Right in the middle of the of the bedroom. She wasn't sure how she could explain this one now that she wasn't drunk, but the minute his lips touched hers, all she seemed to crave was more. She didn't allow herself to think as she gave in to the whirlwind of sensations that Damon stirred in her. Her hands slipped underneath Damon's shirt and roamed his back, the tight, muscular control that could still his assassin spin of emotions. He wanted her. He wanted her so bad. He wanted to taste her. To have her begging for more.

One swift movement and he had her in his arms, carrying her to her bed, like a Queen. Once she felt the bed underneath her, never breaking the kiss he started, Eva stripped off his jacket, tossing it carelessly across the room. His muffled moan warmed her. She liked the fact that she had the tiniest bit of power over the unflappable Damon. She clung to him hungrily, as he quickly cast aside their shoes, skipping his own belt to focus on getting rid of her pants.

Anxious to feel his naked body pressed against hers once more, she shimmied out of her pants, gasping at Damon's touch. He didn't even wait to remove her underwear. Instead, he slid his hand inside and plunged his fingers into her waiting wetness. A soft moan escaped her as her hands gripped his shoulders, as her hips began moving against his fingers, meeting them thrust for thrust.

"Damon... it's too much."

"Uh-uh." He said.

Eva writhed beneath him, but he held her down, his one hand resting flat against her abdomen, keeping her from getting away from him. She tried her best to get rid of the wrist, to no avail and resigned herself to the sensations. He was so sweet and soft, that she almost forgot he was a vampire.

"Come on, angel. Don't wimp out on me now." Very sensual and much like a panther, he crawled back up to her body, nuzzling her neck until she smiled.

"But I'm tiiiiiiired, Damon" One glance at his eyes and he had her. "Alright." She caved.

"That's the spirit, love." She felt his hands wrap around her waist and then, she was flipped over onto her stomach. "Now, on your knees." With his strength, he eased her up onto her knees, bringing her ass right up against his throbbing, erected member. She couldn't stop the moan as she braced her hands against the headboard so tightly that her knuckles were sure to white. This time, he slid himself inside her - his full, hot, satiny length filled her to the end. She could feel his muscular torso against her back, one hand braced on top of hers, while the other bracing her hip, guiding her, as he agonizingly and slowly made love to her. This was a different side of Damon. But Eva couldn't be bothered at the moment to find out which one it was.

He buried himself to the hilt with each slow thrust, and this time, his hands were free to roam her body. His hand slowly traced his burning fingers down to her nether region and with two hot fingers, slowly began rubbing her clit. Eva threw her head back, a gravely and sensual groan leaving her lips. Gripping the headboard so tightly that her knuckles turned ghost white against her tanned flesh, she could feel him nearly at the edge, because his slow, graceful thrusts, became urgent and faster.

He was moving faster, until finally, she exploded, spasming around him, her body giving out. It didn't take long for Damon to spill himself into her, flooding her insides with him. He had to hold her up, pressing her back against him as he laid down on her bed. She tangled herself around him, as he pressed a kiss to her shoulder.

"That was..." She wasn't quite sure how to word it.

"A hundred and fifty plus years." He finished for her.

"Was that what our honeymoon would of been like?"

"Mhmmm." He drawled, giving her a lazy grin.

"Damn my sister then. Damn Katherine too." Eva cursed.

Damon could only chuckle at her.

What good was owning the world when he'd have no choice except to defend himself against every person in it? Personally, he'd rather be a beggar with one true friend than a prince surrounded by two-faced assassins. And frankly? That was fine by him. As long as he had her, he didn't mind being dethroned.

"Thank you for the unexpected surprise tonight."

Damon's features twisted into a smirk. "You're welcome." He was sickening himself - he was starting to sound like a human, but, dammit, he couldn't help it. The girl attracted trouble like no other, and fate seemed to cast him as her savior. And he was ashamed to admit that he liked being her savior. Her protector. That thought was all it took. Damon's lips came crashing down onto hers and he entered her again, sliding his entire length into her in one delicious movement. She cried out in a mixture of pain and pleasure.

He instantly set a rhythm as she laid there, letting him abuse her body to his pleasure. She opened her eyes as he drew his lips away and found him looking at her with an intense gaze that she found impossible to break. She wondered what thoughts were swirling behind those blue eyes but didn't have much time to contemplate anything as she cried out when he changed angles, hitting the spot. She was sure that Stefan was hearing everything, the thought made her blush like a tomatoe.

Eva's moans grew louder until she finally muffled her cry of her second climax in the crook of Damon's shoulder. He slowed his movement to almost a stand still, letting his long lost love ride out her climax as she gasped for air, until she glanced up at him with fire intense eyes that made Damon's insides quiver. She was just full of surprises.

"Your turn." He said, flipping them over so that he was now lying against the bed, Eva straddling his hips. She said nothing as she began to move up and down as he guided her hips. Once he was confident she was setting her own rhythm, he removed his hands, pulling them behind his head. Eva moaned and tossed her hair back. It was involuntary but turned Damon on like no one else could. He moved his hands from behind his head to tangle in her hair, roughly pulling her face to his and claiming her mouth. Eva met his kiss with equal fervor.

Her moan brought his attention back to the present and he pulled away, watching as she closed her eyes and slowed as her inner walls contracted around him. He simply watched her ride out her orgasm, his eyes on her face as her cheeks flushed. There was only one emotion that Damon could muster in that moment. _Love_. Eva was the perfect example of what love should of been for him. They should of been able to get married, have the child she was pregnant with and have many more after that, then grow old and die together. That was how it was supposed to be, but fate handed them a different card. A card that Damon was slowly learning to deal with.

He was pretty sure he wouldn't have been able to make love to her more than once if she were human. Surely, she wouldn't have the energy. The night they first had sex when they were human, Eva practically gave up on him after the first climax. Damon couldn't fault her - he was taking her virginity away from her. It was probably a nerve wracking situation. But nonetheless, Damon loved her. The more he was around her, the more he couldn't stand to be apart from her. Was he in love, truly in love, after all these years?

Bringing him out of his thoughts, Damon sensed that her energy was waning and he flipped her back over, her head resting comfortably once again on the pillow. He started thrusting extremely slowly, taking his time. Damon leaned down to give Eva a lazy kiss, watching as she smiled against his lips. He knew he wasn't going to last much longer. He could feel himself waning. "Open your eyes, love." When she did, he maintained eye contact with her and silently willed her to not break it. It was weird, but she never took her eyes off him. There was a moment where her body writhed under him, grabbing the bed sheet in her fists. "Damon..."

"Let go, love." He replied.

That sent her over the edge as her back arched as far as it would go without breaking as she shouted, the most intense climax of her undead life taking her breath away. It was then, that Damon finally allowed himself to release as he met her climax with his, emptying himself deep within her. With a few last slow thrusts, Damon's eyes never left hers as he came to a rest, still inside her. Damon brushed aside a few drenched strands of her hair from her forehead, then with his thumb, he wiped the now flowing tears from her eyes. First the right, then the left.

"Why are you crying?"

"I have no idea." Eva replied truthfully as she stared at him. "...I just... I just feel so _happy._"

"Happy that I got you to three climaxes in one go?" Damon joked, grinning down at her. He slid out of her and fell on the bed beside her, cradling her in his arms.

Eva couldn't help but laugh at his comment.

"We should probably get you cleaned off. You smell like sex."

"And you smell like sex and bourbon. I don't think I have the energy.." Eva said lazily. Her eyes were beginning to droop.

Damon contemplated whether or not he should let her rest or not. It would be cruel of him to drag her to the shower. Finally, Damon wrapped his arms around her, letting sleep take over her. Once he heard her steady breathing, Damon pulled the covers over their naked bodies as he allowed himself to fall into a deep slumber.


	19. Conflict

When Damon woke the next morning, he felt the sun on him - but his vision was completely pitch black. Reaching up to his face, he pulled the blindfold away, staring into the evil glare of Eva.

"You weren't supposed to take that off yet."

She stood in front of him in her underwear. _That was a pleasant sight to see. _Damon thought..

"And why not?"

"Because I wasn't finished getting dressed for the Mayor's cook out." She went to the box of clothes that Elena had brought her, picking out a simple white maxi dress with light pink floral designs. Instead of getting out of Damon's eyesight to put it on, Eva merely stood and slid into the dress, her dragon tattoo in the middle of her back was covered up perfectly. She turned to Damon and held the halter top tie out to him. He stood - in his full form, she might add - and walked up behind her. She could feel him rub against the back of her leg, sending shivers up her spine.

Once he had it tied the way it was comfortable enough, Damon left her to her thoughts as he headed into his bathroom.

"There's a fair not far from the cook out, too! We should go check it out." Eva shouted from bed as she ran her hands through her makeup, attempting to find some decent colors. She looked up when she saw Damon's head appear out of the door.

"What are we? 15?"

"It would be fun. I could show your hotness off." Eva batted her eyelashes at him, smirking at his retreating body as he shut the door groaning.

_Round One; won._

"Elenaaaaaaaaaaa."

"Yes?" Elena said, appearing in the doorway.

Eva handed her a make up brush.

Elena knew what the fuss was about now as she sat on the bed next to her. She took the vampire's face in her hand and began putting the make up that Eva had picked out on her. "Hard to believe you don't know how to do this."

"I was born in 1841, does it really sound like we'd have something like this back then?"

"No, guess not."

"Besides, I was too... into sports than worrying about make up. Georgia heat would of melted it right off me."

Damon exited the bathroom in nothing but a towel. Eva watched as Elena turned her head away, really focusing on the fabric of the bed sheet. He soon raised an eyebrow and turned to his closet, picking out a pair of black jeans, black shirt and black jacket. They were truly two different people. Damon was dark all the time, and Eva was only dark when she wanted to be. It was rather interesting to watch, she assumed. What Eva was wearing now was such a contrast to Damon.

"I think I might change." She stood, opting for a pair of skinny jeans, a black 'Wanted: Dead or Alive' Bon Jovi T-shirt and her black leather jacket, with a pair of black peep-toe heels.

She could hear Damon whistle from his closet and rolled her eyes. _That man knows everything. _She thought.

After she shooed Elena out of the room, thanking her for doing her make up, Eva fell on the bed. Damon walked over to her and stood in front of her, pulling her up by her hands. "What's the matter?"

Eva took one of her wrists and bit into it before handing it to Damon. He took it, sucking gently, her memories flowing with ease into his mind.

"Ah." Damon spoke as he retracted his fangs from her wrist. He glanced up at Eva, raising an eyebrow. "Do you want me to talk to her?"

Eva stayed silent.

"What?"

"You're not going to bend her over a table and screw her, are you?"

Damon snorted. "18 year old, who's barely had enough sex to loosen her up, versus a 171 year old vampire that's been pleading with me for sex since the first time you came back to Mystic Falls? Please. It's a no brainer..." He paused. "..the 18 year old would be a better choice."

"Damon!"

He ducked when Eva smacked him with a pillow - not receiving the full force of her blow.

Grinning, Damon looked back up at her pouting face, arms crossed over her chest. "I'm only kidding Eva." He kissed her forehead, then her cheek, then her jawline as he pushed her back against the bed.

"Noooooo." Eva squirmed to get out of his grasp.

_Tell me exactly what am I supposed to do? Now that I have allowed you to beat me. Do you think that we could play another game? Maybe I can win this time? I kind of like the misery you put me through..._

When they all finally arrived at the cook out, Caroline and Bonnie were waiting for them. Eva mingled with Caroline and Bonnie, while Elena mingled with Stefan and Matt. Damon, instead, mingled with the Sheriff, attempting to get some information out of her.

"Is there any new wild animal attacks?"

"None right now, but we did find a few remains out by Wickery Bridge."

_Aw fuck. _Damon thought. _Why did they bury their bodies by Wickery Bridge?_

"Excuse me for a moment, Liz."

Damon walked away as soon as she allowed him too, attempting to find Stefan. When he did find his younger brother, he whispered in his ear. "You buried the originals in shallow grands? Next to Wickery Bridge! How stupid can you be, Stefan!"

"I didn't!" Stefan argued, pulling Damon even further away from the buzzing crowd. "When you left with Eva, Marika was already gone with Rebekah and Klaus. I buried Elijah and Kol deep into the woods."

Damon cursed under his breath.

"She knows witches, Stefan!"

"I know, Damon-"

"No you don't!" Damon argued. "She's Eva's sister, the bitch _killed her._ She could easily put some sort of witchy juju on her! - I knew I shouldn't have let that bitch out."

"Damon - you left, to protect Eva, to fix her up. It's not your fault." Stefan tried to convince his brother.

"But I knew how manipulative Marika is!" Damon looked around, pulling Caroline aside. "Find Bonnie and Elena, tell them to look for Eva. _Everywhere._"

Caroline left a moment later.

Bonnie and Caroline found Eva, chatting with the Mayor. Pulling her away, they quickly brought her back to Damon.

"We're leaving." Damon spoke as he took Eva's hand.

He was about to walk away with her, before she doubled over in pain, holding her stomach. When she brough her hand back - there was blood. And a lot of it. Damon looked up, to see Marika walking toward them, a weakened Elena next to her. Guests were starting to look, wondering what the commotion was. Liz showed up, with the rest of the group of people that knew vampires existed in Mystic Falls.

"Move, and I break their necks."

Bonnie spoke first. "It's just like with Katherine. What happens to one, happens to the other."

Damon was cradling a bleeding Eva in his arms.

"Go ahead Damon, kiss Eva - Elena will feel it too. I'm sure she'll love you for it, you know, in case you pick to save Elena instead of Eva." Marika grinned.

"Go to hell." Eva spit out, turning her eyes toward Marika.

The neck of Elena Gilbert was sliced from one side to the other, the same mark appearing on Eva.

"Hurry Damon... time's running out."

In a broken whisper, Damon spoke. "How do I fix Eva?"

A satisfied smirk appeared on Marika's lips as a vial was tossed into his hand.

"It'll release the spell - but a word to the wise, Damon, you'll only a few seconds to feed her your blood. It'll also make her human."

Without looking at Elena in Stefan's arms as Marika fled, Damon tipped the vial into Eva's mouth. Once he was done, he broke open the wrist that wasn't holding her head and fed her his blood. "Come on, Eva."

A few heartbeats sped by, the wounds in her stomach and neck were healed, but Eva never moved. Damon was about to give up, until she drew a long, deep breath, gasping for her. Damon wrapped her up in his arms, afraid to let her go. Burying his face in her neck, the smell was intoxicating. _Her smell. _He pulled away from her.

"You're human, Eva."


	20. Want

Nothing happened to Elena, except the fact that she was weak from the vervain. Marika had played her cards - she played her bluff and now, Damon wanted her head sitting on his wall. Damon did whatever he could to avoid Eva. It wasn't because he wanted to, but because he _had to._ Her smell... her human smell was so intoxicating, Damon was sure he'd kill her if he got a taste of her now human blood. Black magic wine, is what he'd call it. Her smell was more powerful than Elena's and that was saying something.

"Eva's asking for you." Elena had told him a few hours into the first night of Eva being a human. He wasn't about to go in there. He desperately wanted to ask her if she wanted to stay human. If she did, Damon would gladly find a way to turn into human Damon again, just for her. But Damon doubted his self control when it came to her. There was no telling what he'd do to her now that she was human and very fragile.

"You should see her." Elena said for the umpteenth time that night.

"I can't."

"Why? Because she's human now?"

"..Because I'm in love with her." Damon replied. It was the first time he ever said it and it felt good to finally be able to say it and not have judgement placed upon him. "And I don't want to hurt her." Only love of a good woman will make a man question every choice, every action. Only love makes a warrior hesitate for fear that his lady will find him cruel. Only love makes a man both the best he will ever be, and the weakest. Sometimes all in the same moment. And that was exactly how Damon felt, sitting in the recliner of his living room, drinking his bourbon to calm his nerves.

"You've been tortured by angry witches, hypnotized by a vengeful original, spied on by the most powerful vampire in existence and nearly killed twice." Elena retorted. "And you're worried about hurting her?"

Life couldn't get any worse. Could it?

Damon stood and walked away from Elena, headed toward the stairs.

_Here's my heart, no strings attatched._

It was a weird feeling, to be human again. Eva had to admit that. She heard someone coming up and the stairs and fell back against the pillow, feigning sleep. She heard the door open and the floor creak beneath their feet before it stopped. It was then, that Eva came face to face with the seductive vampire who is an archangel's right hand, and who wears his cruelty as boldly as his lethal sensuality, the same vampire who has been her secret obsession since the day she was old enough to understand the inexplicable, violent emotions he aroused in her.

"I know you're not sleeping, you're frantic heartbeat gives you away."

_Damn._

Opening her eyes, Eva watched Damon, his blue eyes swimming with something unrecognizable.

"Hi."

He listened to the soft voice of the brunette next to him, determination as chill and cutting as a northern gale wrapped Damon Salvatore's heart in an icy grip. Even her voice sounded him. Beauty always did come with dark thoughts. Beneath the expensive clothes, unplaceable accent, and cultured veneer, there's something that never crawled all the way out of the swamp. It didn't want to. It likes it there. And despite everything, despite all the things Elena was telling him, Damon wanted it to stay that way. He wanted to revel in the monster that he was. Home was where the heart was. What if Damon didn't have a heart? What if it was ripped out the night his brother stabbed him, ending his mortal life? He wasn't supposed to feel like this. He wasn't a teenager. A century and a half had past since he'd been a teenager, or even remotely close to one. He was conflicted to a point where Damon wanted to run away.

Fear leads to anger. Anger leads to hate. Hate leads to the dark side. And Damon had tipped right over the edge. He was supposed to be tracking down Klaus, not obsessing over some now human girl that would only last sixty years at the most. His resolve was weakening. He needed to feed the animal, it's tongue pratically dripping with hunger. Half tempted to tell Eva to run away from him, the other side forced him to stay beside her. He could of easily overpowered her with a flick of his wrist, he could have her pinned beneath him. He was tainted - he had bad blood. Why would she want him? She was free to live a normal life now - one that didn't have him in it. So what was the point now, to stay?

There was a sense of fear, simmering in the pit of his stomach. Indecision followed shortly after.

"You can kiss me, you know." Eva whispered. "You won't break me."

"I'm scared."

This time, Eva looked up at him.

There were tears.

_Tears in Damon's eyes._

It was the weirdest thing she'd ever seen. He was crying - freely and openly - at her. Gathering her night gown in her hands, Eva stood, wobbly at first, but she managed to make the few steps toward him, kneeling in front of him. "Scared of what, Damon?"

"Of hurting you." Damon replied. "You're not a vampire, Eva. I could hurt you, kill you even. I've hurt you so much already. I'm afraid to hurt you more to a point where you won't think of me as anything but a monster. Ever since you came back into my life, you've been in danger. And you're in danger now, while human." Nervous, Damon ran his hand through his hair several times before sighing. "You don't understand, your blood... I can _smell_ it. It smells so heavenly and I can't taste it because I'll surely lose control."

"You could stop all this." Eva began, taking his hands in hers. "You can change back to a human too. Bonnie can find a way or we can find another witch. Then, we'd never have to worry about another vampire coming after us. We can have that future that you and I had planned, back in 1864, we can have the children we had planned, Damon. Then we can live out our lives and die with a happy ending. _Together_."

Damon could hardly believe how he manged to snag himself a woman like Eva. Even though she's been broken, She still manages to put up a fight. She fights for her friends and the people she cares about. _It's about time someone started fighting for her. _Damon's mind finished for him. His mind was right. He should be fighting for her, not the other way around. If she wanted to stay human, then he'd become a human again too. "Eva." It was a whisper, but it sounded as if Damon couldn't summon up his usual silky menace. ".._I love you_. If you want to stay human, then I'll find a way to convince Bonnie to find a way to change me back." Damon's sudden stillness was perfection, like all his other perfections. He stared at a spot in the beige carpet that by rights ought to have broken into flames by now and thrown him into the hell that he belonged in.

He was breathing hard now, and Eva saw to her astonishment, something she had never expected to see again in such a short time. More tears in Damon's eyes. She never thought she could strip away the stony shell around Damon's heart. To make him cry. But those were real teardrops trembling on Damon's eyelashes, and he didn't even move when one trickled down the side of his face.

"Damon," Eva whispered, reaching out to him, but he just shook his head.

Now that he had done all he could do to try to protect her, he didn't seem to care about keeping up appearances. Fine tremors ran through his body. Another tear ran down his cheek. He was fully vulnerable to her now. And she felt her heart break for him all over again. Damon was shaking silently, which meant that he was truly stricken. He put his hands to his face. Eva couldn't help but get close to the vampire, to wrap her arms around his neck, not caring if he bit her or not. He could of drained her dry and she wouldn't have cared one bit.


	21. Living After Midnight

Once her arms were around him, Damon's arms snaked around her waist to hold her into place as he buried his face in the crook of her neck. Eva could feel the trickle of wetness going down to her chest, but she didn't care if he stained her night gown.

"You're human now." Damon broke the silence, pulling himself out of her grasp. "You need sleep." Picking her up, he carried back to his bed. Laying her down gently, Damon pulled the covers up to her chin, bending down to the kiss her forehead. "Get some rest. We'll worry about things in the morning."

There was already sleepiness sinking into her body as he closed the door, grabbing a book on his way out. He needed some time to think, he needed some time to himself. Passing Elena and Stefan sitting on the couch, Damon walked over the desk and sat down, opening the book he took from his room a few minutes before.

Grabbing a pen, Damon went and pulled a Stefan and began to write in elegant handwriting, in his journal:

_I haven't done this in awhile, actually, it's been a really long time. It seems another post is about Eva. She walked with a peaceful grace about her, like the whole world was her's for the taking but I knew that it was just a mask that was slowly killing her. She kept her feelings to herself, replacing what she really felt with rude comments and cuss words. Her hair always hid her face from the world, and I guess I saw something that I hoped I could save. I had heard just about every little detail about this beautiful woman, yet none of it seemed to be the truth. What she was hiding, What she was feeling, What she was thinking; She never showed it. She barricaded herself from the world, allowing only select few to see what she really was. It was as if I was better off chasing thunder, then try and get through to her._

_Behind closed downs, the mask falls. The shy, guarded woman becomes a vixen. It was as if I had found a split personality that she only allowed me to see. The vixen side of her, was ruthless, and wonderfully made. As soon as those doors were opened, the mask was put on faster then it had been taken off and Eva Novakov; the guarded warrior woman returned. It was hard to tell which side of her I was in love with. Enemies of her's would have loved to watch the depressed, beautiful goddess crumble to the ground, yet she never did and that is what I love about her. You could of beaten her til she was close to death and she'd still fight until the end. How many people can you say that about them? There's only one._

_The main reason why I thought she was different from everyone was that she didn't need any guy to make her happy and she let you know about it too. She didn't want to be the princess waiting for 'prince charming'; She had been broken too many times for her to see herself being the princess who gets the prince. I was lucky enough to save her before she was broken beyond repair. Her open wounds and self destruction was only the beginning. Her statuesque frame, porcelain skin, and piercing brown eyes were only a few of the many things that entranced me. She was, in more ways then one, my addiction and I knew I had to make her mine. And I did. I would often wonder what made such a small framed girl so hateful. Or what made her hate the word love and anything that came with it. But then, over time, I found out. She didn't hate the word, she craved it. She craved for someone to come in and swoop her off to "happily ever after". She craved for someone tell her they loved her and mean it - and it sure as hell took me an awfully long time to get through to her._

_And now that she's human, I don't know what to do. I wish I could turn the hands of time back, back to the day when it was simple enough for me to express what I want to say to her. What I want to do with her. The first night I spent with her, was something else. It was a perfect blend of everything I needed and now, I have a feeling that was when she got pregnant. The coldest night, she were curled up underneath the heaviest blanket she could find. I was comfortable the way I was, but she refused, bringing me under the blanket with she as we sat near the fire, waiting out the storm. She curled herself into me, trying to get warm and I, instinctively wrapped my arms around her, an innocent gesture, to keep her from getting frostbite. That's when it happened. A spark. A fire ignited. And one thing lead to another. And before we knew it, it was morning. We were tangled in the bed sheets. It was a nice piece of heaven. Just her and I. She were everything to me. My drug, My addiction, My best friend and at one point, we were going to be something more. She was the highlight of my day. My comfort zone. My safe haven from the world and I'll admit, I tried to keep her to myself. We were meant to last forever._

After several hours of writing in the same spot, Damon tried to make sense of it all, but most of his writing was his thoughts that wouldn't form into words, as he closed the book and tied the strap around it. Stefan and Elena stayed the whole time, watching his hand run along the paper several times before he flipped the page and started anew. "I didn't think you'd ever write in a journal." Stefan spoke first.

"Yeah, well, I've become you. How tragic for the both of us." His usual snark was back as he gave Stefan a pointed glare.

Elena watched Damon stand, walking over to his liquor cabinet and reaching into the back. She shook her head lightly. She could see the pain in his eyes. He was like a wounded soldier in need of healing. And his way of healing was no different than anyone. He resorted to drinking. He resorted to alcohol. The best he had in his cabinet.

_Don't suffocate day after day, it's building up, cause when you're feeling weak, you know I'm strong enough. Sometimes hard to find, a reason good enough. I'll stand beside you, never leave through it all. You're worth so much, it'll never be enough to see what you have to give. How beautiful you are, yet seem so far from everything. Your failures devour your heart. In every hour, you're drowning, in your imperfections. You mean so much, the heaven would touch the face of humankind for you. Revel in your day, you're fearfully and wonderfully made. You're worth so much, so easily crushed. Wanna be like everyone else, no one escapes, every breath we take, dealing with our own skeletons. Won't you believe, all the things I see in you? You're not the only one, drowning in imperfection._

The sun didn't burn her. To think of it, she actually felt the warm heat of the sun dripping it's rays on her. Wiggling her toes, Eva watched the shadow on the bed, snickering softly.

To say the feeling was weird, was a complete understatement. It was one of those moments when time just freezes. When the world suddenly goes deathly still, and you could hear a pin drop and the squishing sound your heart makes is so loud in your ears you feel like you're drowning in blood, and you stand there in that suspended moment and die a thousand deaths, but not really, and the moment passes and dumps you out on the other side of it, with your mouth hanging open, and an erased blackboard where your mind used to be? That's what it felt like. She was just about to get up when she heard footsteps growing closer and closer. Then, Damon's head appeared in the doorway, his hand over his eyes. "Are you decent?"

Rolling her eyes, Eva spoke. "Yes."

She watched him drop his hand. Gone was his mirth, replaced with a softness that twisted her undead heart. Was it wonder? Sadness? Love? She couldn't tell, and God help her she was too afraid to ask. Even she could be only so bold before self-preservation took over. And now that she was human, there was no telling what would set Damon Salvatore off. Even the littlest thing could turn him into the raging vampire she witness a few times before. Even she could be only so bold before her mind snapped.

Every time Eva spoke, Damon copied it and kept it in his mind, safe and sound, forever burned in his memory. But even with her there, Damon couldn't hide the fact that he was a monster, destined to feed on people.

He took two steps and before she knew it, he had her off the bed, with her head in his hands.

"Bonnie thinks she found a way, she thinks she can make me human." He said, pushing his fingers through her hair, fanning it out around her shoulders and searching her face intently. "We'll try it as soon as she gets back with all her ingredients, If it works, then Stefan and Elena might just end up human too. Stay with me, when she attempts the spell?" He said with a gravelly edge. "Stay with me tonight. Let me hold you, even if that's all it is. Let me keep you safe."

She had a very hard time, attempting to not look him in the eye. If she did, that was the end of it. She would cave. "Fine! I'll throw on some clothes. Turn around. I'm in my pj's".

A sly grin captured his lips, as he replied. "I'm a guy. That's like asking a kid not to glance at the candy counter."


	22. Stand Here With Me

There wasn't much to do, other then wait. And waiting sucked. Damon was nervous. Very nervous. Bonnie assured him that it wouldn't hurt, but honestly, he didn't believe the witch one bit. Damon sat at on the counter top in the kitchen, reading an old newspaper clipping that he found from way back when, when he hated his brother and when he was on his own, no one to worry about.

The headline read:

**JACK THE RIPPER IDENTIFIED BY EYEWITNESS. **

_Society man discovered to be unholy killer. Man about town Damon Desangue has been positively identified in relation to the Miller's Court murder last week._

Damon snorted. It felt so long ago. A whole year, Damon was running from the vampire that planted his face in the London society as a killer. A murderer. He could remember it perfectly.

_He took off through the winding, sprawling streets of West London toward the sludgy, slow-moving River Thames. He used to think the Thames was majestic, flowing into the Atlantic Ocean and connecting London to the world. Now, the thing looked murky and malevolent. Just like he felt, more alert to any signs of Samuel, outraged citizens, or the Metropolitan Police. Every so often, he'd see a tumble of curls cascading down a slim back and would be instantly reminded of Katherine. Even now, the woman haunted his thoughts, nearly two decades after he'd been turned._

_As he walked along the river toward the pedestrian bridge across the Thames, familiar sights of London loomed before him. He could see the domed chapel of St. Paul's Cathedral, and farther down, Big Ben. Beyond that were warehouses that abutted the river. The same warehouses where Samuel had held him under vervain. London was a study of contrasts, with the church spires that reached toward the heavens masking the hellish underbelly that he was steeped in. Soon, he found himself on the Strand, the street closest to the Thames and one of the city's commercial epicenters. He caught a few people staring at him suspiciously. He wasn't surprised though. In his bloodstained, dirt-caked clothes, he looked worse than the beggars who often hung about the city squares._

The vampire had captured him, threw him in a warehouse and kept him under vervain. Vervain laced the whole place, so Damon wouldn't be able to escape, far too weak to try anything. Far too weak to attempt anything. There times where Damon had thought his life was done. But alas, it was not. A friend of Stefan's managed to find him. One of his brother's _human _friends. It was weird to Damon, at first. But she proved to be useful. One night, she broke him out of the makeshift prison he was put it. And oddly enough, Damon would be forever grateful to her.

_On the opposite bank, she neatly turned down a set of winding stone steps leading to the edge of the river. The area under the bridge housed nothing apart from a giant hole in the ground, covered over with wooden planks and iron beams. Damon, weak as he was, had a hard time keeping his own footing. This must have been a construction site for an Underground station. The plan was to connect all of London via a web of underground train tunnels. The city's goal was to have a functional line by the turn of the century. But judging by the state of the hole, the crew wasn't in an hurry. The area looked abandoned. Damon had trailed behind her like a obedient puppy, not giving a shit if it was trap or not. He was just thankful that he wasn't locked up anymore. A __**KEEP OUT**__ sign tacked on a nearby post and a low post and wire fence surrounded the hole. Some worker had made a halfhearted attempt to cover the opening with a sheet of canvas, but he could see the top of a thin wooden ladder poking out. She took the ladder down and Damon followed, greeted by his brother._

It was a moment Damon wanted to forget - to forget that he'd even been saved by a human, no less. Stefan often told him to go to hell. In that moment, Damon believed he'd arrived, sitting in an under construction train tunnel, waiting out the storm. Snapping out of his thoughts, the vampire tossed the newspaper article on the bed, ignoring it completely. Why he even kept the damn thing, was beyond him. Perhaps it was to keep him aware that not everyone liked vampires as well as some. Damon kept people sharp. He made you think. There was an edge to him, and you always have to be at the top of your game. That was his price of his identity. He kept you on your toes, human or not. He knew, in London, Jack the Ripper was the name on everyone's lips. Damon always tempted fate. Right now, the vampire wanted blood. Fresh blood. He left the newspaper article on the counter as he went to the fridge, grabbing one of the many bottles of blood stashed in the back of the refrigerator. Pouring the contents in a glass, the vampire downed the contents in one swig, the liquid burning his throat pleasantly.

There was a kick of the door and Damon set the bottle down, relieved to find Bonnie walking into the living room with her arms full of bags with supplies in them.

"All this, to turn me human?"

"Not just you, Damon."

"Yeah, but I'm the guinea pig for this experiment, so it's to turn just me human." He grinned, giving her a wink.

"If you don't want to do this -"

"I like being a living dead person," Damon cut her off. "But, Eva doesn't want to be a vampire anymore - therefore, it's my obligation to stand by her and all that mushy stuff and become a human too."

"Who knew you actually cared about someone other than your reflection." Bonnie retorted.

"Watch it, witchy."

"Sorry," Bonnie grinned. "I have to get one last smart ass comment in before I either turned you human or fried you to bits." She shrugged her shoulders lightly.

Damon raised an eyebrow.

"Anyway," Bonnie cut him off before he could say any more as Stefan and Elena came downstairs with Eva.

There was a moment where Eva stood on her toes and kissed him. He felt all his nervousness wash away then. But then she pulled away and Damon was left standing alone, while she stood next to Elena as Bonnie put a ring of salt around where Damon stood. He wondered why she needed salt, but didn't ask any questions as he kept his eyes focused on his long lost love.


	23. A Moment Like This

It wasn't painful, like Bonnie said, but that didn't mean there wasn't _some pain._ He stood as still as he possibly could with Bonnie circling him, saying something in a different language that even he didn't understand. Little pin pricks were all over his body, like he was laid down on a bed of nails. And then, it was over with. No pain, nothing. A weird feeling rushed over him as he walked over to the window, touching his ring on his left finger before sliding it off. The only true way to find out if he was truly human. The sun touched him, but didn't burn him. Eva came over to stand next to him, smiling softly as she laid a hand on his chest, wrapping the other around around his waist.

He bent his head down and kissed her violently, with passion. Desire exploded through Eva's heart and then, she was kissing him back, matching his fervor, her hands grabbing his face. She poured all the angst and heartbreak of the last few weeks with him into her kiss, and relization of him doing the same, hits her then. Damon was the first to break the kiss, panting slightly. Eva watched as his eyes turned luminous with desire, firing the already heated blood that is pounding through her body. The next surprise Damon did, was unclasping the lapis necklace from around her neck. Setting it on the cabinet, he took off his ring and set it next to the necklace. The vampire life was gone.

"Do you feel anything different?" _Bonnie_.

Damon turned around to face her and before she knew it, the elder Salvatore had pulled her Into a hug. Eva had to laugh, because the look on Bonnie's face was one that would forever be embedded into her memory. She wasn't sure if Bonnie would hug him back or die. She looked like she might do both. Damon had put the witch back on her feet before he spoke again.

"Thank you, Bonnie."

"You're welcome...Damon."

It was a sweet moment as Eva looked on. She then turned and looked at Elena. "Are you going to go back to being human? ...It's a weird feeling at first, but you get used to it."

"Did it hurt?"

"Uncomfortable, would be a better word for it." Damon replied, wrapping his arms around Eva's waist and resting his chin on her shoulder.

Instead of waiting for one to go after the other, Stefan pulled Elena next to him while Bonnie did the spell as Damon and Eva watched. "Damon..."

He turned his head to look at Eva.

She ushered him into the kitchen. He followed patiently. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." Eva grinned, before she jumped onto the counter. "I just wanted some alone time with my now human fiancee."

Damon set his hands on her thighs. "Is that right?"

"Mhm."

Eva smoothed the few hairs that stuck up in Damon's hair before her hands run down his back, pulling him closer to her.

Damon's hand reached up to caress her cheek. "You are so beautiful."

Eva scoffed. "Now the 1864 Damon shows up." She rolled her eyes, jokingly.

"He was there... just in hiding." Damon retorted, laughing.

Eva froze beneath him. He was laughing. _He was laughing!_ She hadn't heard Damon laugh - _truly laugh _ - in such a long time, it was contagious. His laugh, made her laugh in return. Her laugh only increased as his hands danced over her skin. "No! No! Damon! ... stoooooooop itttttttttt."

"It's been over a 150 years since I've been able to fully experience the fun of tickling you. Lemme enjoy it."

Eva grabbed his hands, trying to free herself from his vice like human grip. It was hard, to say the least, but then an idea struck her. A wicked grin spread across her face as she took her leg, sliding it up his inner thigh until she reached the perfect spot. That made Damon twitch, his eyes darkening to pitch black. He stopped suddenly, very much tempted to just take her right there. But that wouldn't be right. He wanted it to be special, since they were both human now. He wanted to make it so that the past hundred and fifty years plus didn't count. He wanted her to remember this moment for the rest of her natural life.

"What would you like, Miss Soon-to-be-Salvatore? Sex... or Breakfast?"

Eva could feel his erection against her thigh. She knew what he wanted. She most definitely knew what Damon Salvatore wanted. And who was she to deny him the pleasure? He was all ready to take her right then and there, on the kitchen counter. Her stomach growled. But she didn't want food - she wanted _him. _Grabbing his face roughly in her hands, Eva kissed him with everything she could muster up in that moment. His lips moved with hers as his hands lifted to grab her face in return. It was a rough kiss, but it was full of passion. There were moments like this that made her heart melt with desire. She couldn't wait to finally be his and live out a normal, human life.

Damon pulled away, smirking lightly at her. "Well, that's a good choice, Novakov."

"I knew it would be, Salvatore." Eva retorted, matching his smirk.

It was then that the next few moments were a blur to Eva. She felt Damon's hands on her, all over her body and then, he slipped his fingers under the night gown she was still wearing, his fingers circling her sex, round and round, torturing her. Just because he was now a human again, didn't mean he lost all that charm and seduction he had when he was a vampire. Eva tried to stiffle her moan, but it was no use. There was that half-smirk again, playing around his lips, as if he was deciding whether the situation was amusing enough to warrant a full smile. He was hitting the spot each time his fingers moved. A few more circles and Damon had pulled out his fingers. Eva opened her eyes to watch him, her eyes ablaze with surprise as he grabbed her roughly off the counter, pulling her hard against him. Surely she'd bruise from this later.

That's when Stefan and Elena walked in.

_Worst timing ever._

Elena spoke first. "We're going to test it out and go for some retail shopping. See you crazy people later!" She gave Eva an all knowing glance, causing Eva to bury her face in the crook of Damon's neck, silently shaking with laughter. When they were finally out the door, Damon turned to look at her.

"What's so funny?"

"Elena knows what we plan on doing." Eva snickered. "We were talking about it last night."

Damon mouthed a perfect O shape and then, that was when the abuse started. He grabbed a fist full of Eva's hair and kissed her roughly - pouring everything he had into the kiss. Her hands traveled across his back, feeling the faint raised lines from his past with his bastard of a father. His muscles contract underneath her fingers, and electricity shocks her fingertips. "You've asked for me, _my amor_." He murmured against her lips, sending shivers down her spine. The next minute, his lips left hers and then, she was spun around, his groin right up against her own behind. Over a hundred years of pleasure, he was about to bestow upon her as he slowly and agonizingly bent her over the table, her breasts colliding with the cold wood. She had a faint memory of her nightgown being pushed all the way up over her hips, or that her underwear was no at her ankles. She heard the faint clanking of his belt buckle. A moment later and he had her dead to right as his erected member brushed her outside before entering her fully and completely on the first thrust. Eva groaned, gripping the edges of the counter.

Damon pressed his chest against her back. "I want you to remember this."

He thrusted again and Eva moaned. "I have a feeling I will." She replied.

"I missed this." Damon whispered as he kissed her shoulder, continuing his slow onslaught of precious love making. He had her where he wanted to but there was a part of him that wanted to go slow. Like they had the rest of their natural lives to go out with a bang. Damon pulled out of her and spun her around, propping her ass on the edge of the table. "You are precious to me, angel. I've spent the last hundred and fifty years looking after no one but myself. Now, I want to look after you." He laid her back against the table and slid into her again, his hands on her hips as he leaned down to kiss her breasts, first the left one, then the right.

Eva took his face in her hands and kissed him gently. "If you want to, I suppose I can let you."

Damon chuckled as he thrusted into her again, making her groan. Eva clawed at his forearms. "Damon." Her legs wrapped around his waist as her climax took her. A few more thrusts and Damon was whispering her name as he spilled himself into her. Eva wrapped her arms around Damon's neck, breathing rapidly as she tried to get precious air into her lungs. Damon was doing the same as he wrapped his own arms around her waist. "This air thing... is going to take some time to get used to." Eva muttered, causing Damon to chuckle.


	24. Veil of Midnight

That night, Damon had went out with Stefan, for some 'brother bonding' time. Whatever the hell that meant. But he did leave her a little message on her phone. She smiled at the thought.

**To: **Eva.  
**From: **Damon.  
**Message: **Stefan was nagging again, I'm sorry, it was the only way to shut him up. Forgive me? ... I'll promise to make up for it later tonight, if you're awake when I get home. ;)

-D.

Ever since he'd been turned back into a human, Damon Salvatore was more of the man she could ever want. He was the man of her dreams, actually. Quickly texting him back, Eva typed as fast as her human fingers would go.

**To: **Damon.  
**From: **Eva.  
**Message: **I will only forgive you, Sir Salvatore, if you bring me dinner from that little chinese place just outside Mystic Falls. ;) Then maybe, I'll be nice enough to send you to sleep with a nice little dirty image...

-E.

She sent the message and waited.

It didn't take long for him to respond back.

**To: **Eva.  
**From: **Damon.  
**Message:** As long as you keep calling me Sir or King Salvatore, I'll ignore the fact that you've ordered me to get you dinner. But I'll be expecting that nice dirty little image either way, Novakov.

-D.

She snorted, rolling her eyes at him. _Of course. _That was so like Damon.

**To: **Damon.  
**From: **Eva.  
**Message: **You sir, are an evil, dirty minded person. Now go spend time with your brother before he throws a trantrum, we all know how he gets when he's angry... wouldn't want that little vein in the middle of his forehead to pop. Don't forget my dinner! I'm off to take a shower, so that I'm fresh and ready for you whenever you do decide to come home. ;) Hope you have fun! Don't get too drunk, Damon! You're human now, remember? Don't do something that vampire Damon would do, that human Damon couldn't handle. ;D

-E.

Sending a reply back, Eva put her phone on the bed as she grabbed her things for her shower. Somewhere, deep down, her heart swelled with something she couldn't fathomed. It warmed her stomach, spreading all the way to her toes. It was a feeling of happiness and love and ... _something else. _Thirty minutes and Eva was fresh and squeaky clean. She had the house to herself, as Elena was out visiting Caroline. Surprisingly, Caroline was the only one that didn't want to become a vampire. At least now, she could turn them back into vampires if they choose. Throwing on a bath robe, Eva grabbed her phone, checking it for messages. Two from Damon. One right after her other message and then one that was sent five minutes before she got out of the shower.

**To: **Eva.  
**From: **Damon.  
**Message:** I didn't get drunk, thank you. Perfectly sober, Novakov. Brother bonding was cut short, thanks to Elena. Woman is a life saver if I had to listen to Stefan talk about his feelings one more time, I'd explode.

-D.

**To: **Eva.  
**From: **Damon.  
**Message:** Dinner is on it's way. I only hope that desert will be ready by the time I get home.. ;)

-D.

She shook her head and didn't even bother to change into something else. Damon would have her clothes ripped off her before she had a chance to put them on. It was useless. It didn't take Damon long to get home. He probably pressed the petal to the metal, like he used to. It wouldn't surprise Eva if he did. A minute later, Damon walked in, dinner in one hand and oddly enough, roses in the other. Eva smiled softly at him as she followed him into the kitchen. Their fun times on the kitchen table from earlier, still fresh in her mind.

"Come here," He ordered, but his voice is soft and seductive. Eva didn't hesitate to walk into his arms, clasping her arms around his neck as he perches on his bar stool in the kitchen. He wrapped his arms around her and just holds her in place. They stayed like that for a good few minutes, not a care in the world.

Eva took the chinese food carton out of the bag and opened it. "Ohhhh. Smells amazing." She took a few chopsticks out of the back and dug them into the noodles, picking out a few. "Open." Eva grinned as Damon obeyed. She slid the noodles off the sticks and into his mouth. "Can I ask you something?"

"Mmmm." Came the reply.

Eva giggled as Damon held a slender finger up and then a few moments later, he was finally able to talk. "That depends on what you want to ask?"

"Why are you sudden so nice and playful? Not that I mind - I like playful Damon."

"I just feel...different. While Bonnie was changing me, it all seemed to wash away. My love for Katherine, my love for Elena, my hatred for my brother...everything just ... went away."

Eva put some noodles into her mouth. "Mhm..." Eva nodded, a big grin on her face.

Damon shook his head at her, laughing.

When she managed to get the noodles down, Damon raised an eyebrow at her.

"Why do you ask?"

"I don't know." Eva replied. "It just feels... different. Sexier. Funnier."

"I like you being human."

"I like it too." Eva grinned. She jerked her face up. "What do we do now?"

But his expression had grown serious. He interlaced his fingers and said, "We are bound."

"Bound?" Eva nearly swallowed her tongue.

She crossed her arms over her chest, and his gaze went automatically to her breasts, which were no nicely plumped by her biceps.

_Yeah, he was human, but he was still a sex demon. Shoot him._

"What are you going to do? And eyes up, mister."

_Busted._

"What am I going to do?" Damon replied, smirking. "I'm going to marry you, first of all." Hell, he planned to stick to her like pasties on a stripper. Once, he hadn't been able to touch her without causing himself pain. Now, it only hurt when he didn't touch her.

She wanted to feel him pound away her fears, a hammer to smash through all her guilt and pain and emptiness. And for the most part, Damon had done that. Now, forever was about to begin for them. And there was no one that was going to stand in their way. Not if she had anything to say about it.

"You just promised me eternity, you know. I can make you live to regret it."

His gaze slammed into hers. "I know. I love you. Never forget that. Never forget...me."

He loved her. _He loved her. _Emotion bubbled up in her throat, leaving her voice completely wrecked. "Never." She rasped.


	25. Twice Bitten

A whole month had passed since Damon and Eva turned back into humans, for the first time in a hundred and seventy-five years. Stefan and Elena had still stayed in the boarding house with them, but they were much more... unboring, as Damon liked to put it. Even Caroline had to admit that Stefan was more likable now that he was a normal, healthy human. But one thing that didn't change, was Damon and Stefan's bickering.

"I'll tell you in a moment. But just think of it little brother. You and Elena, on the perfect little honeymoon, just two more humans in the world of humans. The sooner you go, the sooner you can sing 'Ding Dong, the Corpse Is Dead'!" Damon spoke with a smirk.

He'd never be accepted completely, of course. A bitter smile curved his lips at the idea. He knew better than to hope for that. There would never be a place where he could belong completely, where he could truly be himself. Unless he chose to belong to the shadows. And immediately he felt the presence of that mind again. It glowed at the edge of his consciousness, a golden light, soft and yet vibrant. He turned to look at Eva and found the presence. She was bored of their bickering. She wanted them to get along, but even as humans, they would never go back to being good siblings again.

Evidently, Eva was not alone in the boredom of the brothers bickering. Elena was too, with her arms crossed over her chest, resting against the wall with a bored look in her eyes. Elena... For a moment Stefan felt a rush of pure joy and awe, forgetting everything else. Elena, warm as sunlight, soft as morning, but with a core of steel that could not be broken. She was like fire burning in ice, like the keen edge of a silver dagger. Even when he wasn't looking at her, he was aware of her more than of anything else in the room. Her living presence beat against his skin like sunlight against closed eyelids. When he actually let himself turn to face her, it was a sweet shock to all his senses.

"You win Damon." Stefan caved.

Damon's smirk only grew.

"You two are so stubborn." Eva quipped, scoffing at the two of them before popping a strawberry in her mouth. They were delicious. It had been awhile since she'd had any time of fruit to eat.

Damon walked up behind her and wrapped his lean, muscled arms around her. "You`re quiet. No snappy back talk? Not even a word? I think this is a lesson I should teach you more often."

"Lost in thought." Eva replied.

"And? Find anything intriguing in there?"

"Ha. Ha." Eva rolled her eyes. "Winter is coming. I can feel it, now. It's a weird sensation."

"I wonder what Signore Marino would think of this picture, brother." Stefan wondered.

"Signore Marino has been dust for hundreds of years by now. Which has nothing to do with this picture anymore, brother. Try again." Damon smirked.

"Are you two done trying to one up each other?" Elena asked, raising an eyebrow. Then, with a quick glance, she looked over at Eva. "Because Eva has something she wants to tell you gu-"

"Elena!" Eva ran over to her, clapping a hand over her mouth. Both brothers looked at them with their eyebrows raised.

"She's delusional. Human hasn't had much sleep lately.. So... uh- well, we'll just be going. I'll put her stubborn ass to bed."

Eva started to drag Elena toward the stairs, but both brothers blocked her path. _Damn. _

Stefan pulled Elena out of her grip and took her into another room. This left Eva with Damon.

"I-I..." Eva stuttered.

"Tell me." Damon ordered, his dark eyes focused on her.

"You remember that one night... our '176th anniversary'?"

"How can I forget?" Damon smirked.

"Well... uh... I'm... you're...uh..."

"Spit it out."

"I'm pregnant."

Damon stood still in shock.

"Say something, _please._" Eva begged. "I was so worried that you wouldn't want to know me once you found out, so I only confided in Elena, which was obviously a mistake."

That brought him out of his shock. "What? Why? Are you kidding me?" He reached out and curled a lock of her hair around his finger. "Surely I've got to be the luckiest guy in the world."

Eva raised an eyebrow at him. "How?"

"Isn't it obvious? I've got my own little piece of Heaven right here."

Oh, that line made her weak in the knees, melting her heart with everything it was worth. How could he be so soft, so sweet? It was unheard of. She wrapped her arms around Damon's neck, burying her face in his chest. Wherever you are, however you got there, if it's good, you're meant to be there either because you earned it or life led you there and you were smart enough to hold on. This was her forever life now. She would cherish it until her last dying breath.

"I know you're freaked, I know you're scared and I know you can come up with a million reasons that you're not ready, all of which will be excuses." Damon began, his breath tickling her shoulder. "But now that I know exactly what's behind those shields you got up...you'll learn, because I'll prove it to you, _I'll never hurt you_."

_Damn this man to hell for those sweet talking words that release from his mouth._ She thought.

And then somehow she was in his lap, and he was kissing her. Hadn't meant to do that but...well. She couldn't exactly be sorry about it, because he tasted amazing, and his lips were so soft and his hands were so strong... He leaned back, his eyes half shut, and he was smiling. Damon hardly didn't smile all that much, and it always left her breathless and tingling. There was a secrecy about it like he only ever smiled at her, and it just felt... _perfect_.


	26. The Promise

There was a moment of pure bliss as Damon Salvatore stared at his pregnant, soon-to-be wife sleeping from his spot by the window. There was a tiny stretch of her stomach, just enough to let the world know that she was expecting.

_In a world beyond controlling, are you going to deny the savior in front of your eyes? Stare into the night, power beyond containing,are you going to remain a slave for the rest of your life? Give into the night. This self discovery, redemption taking hold of my mind. A serenade of haunting voices, calling me away, to feast upon the night, the source of my Felicity, dark maiden taking hold of my hand, lead me away from hibernation. Strong and unafraid, never a question why for saving me from all they've taken, letting my armor fall again, giving me the strength to face them, feeling it taking over now. On a path to take it all away, there can be no better way of knowing._

He desperately wanted to make her his wife. He didn't care if it was just the two of them, he wanted it done. He wanted to be able to call her his wife. But Eva had always stated she wanted a big wedding. And Damon would respect her wishes. He had no choice, really. But today, his human nerves were on edge. In just one day, Elena had managed to plan a whole wedding. And even though the human ways were that the groom wasn't supposed to see the bride before the wedding, Damon had driven Stefan up a wall, worried that something would happen to Eva, thus, Stefan had allowed him a five minute 'peek' at his future wife.

"Times up, brother. Elena will be here any moment to wake her."

Damn.

Placing a kiss on her temple, Damon left the room silently with his brother.

And just as Stefan predicted, Damon could hear Elena waking a groggy Eva from her slumber. Two more hours, he had to keep reminding himself. Just two more hours and he'd be able to call her his own. Two more hours and no one would look at him the same way again. The whole town of Mystic Falls was there. Caroline, Matt, Bonnie, Tyler and everyone else they knew were there. Jeremy had creeped him out a little when he came up to Damon shortly after he visited Eva and said that there were ghosts standing in the back.

"Say that again?"

"Ghosts. As in Rose." Jeremy repeated.

"Who else?"

"There's one that says she's Eva's mother. And another.." Jeremy paused.

"Yes?"

"She says she's your mother."

Damon's face paled. It had been 176 years since his mother had been gone. 176 years since he had his mother's blessing in something. That was the last string of his nerves.

"Sit down and keep an eye on them." Damon said at last, just as the music had started to begin the ceremony. Damon took his place at the altar, next to his brother, glancing at Elena from across the isle. She gave him a reassuring wink.

Before he could say anything, Eva came walking out, her arm linked with another man's. Damon raised an eyebrow and as they got close, Damon's face split into a smirk. It was Eva's half brother, Grey. He let go of his sister just as she took her spot next to Damon. Everyone calmed down as the Officiant began her speech, which oddly enough, was an old vampire from Stefan's past.

"Dearly Beloved, we are gathered together here in the face of this company to join together this man and this woman in holy matrimony, which is commended to be honorable among all men; and therefore is not by any to be entered into unadvisedly or lightly, but reverently, discreetly, advisedly, and solemnly." She gave Damon a wink, smiling softly at him. "Into this holy estate these two persons present now come to be joined. If any person can show just cause why they may not be joined together let them speak now or forever hold their peace." She stopped and waited, to which no one objected.

"You were born to be together, and together you shall be forevermore. You shall be together when the wings of death scatter your days. You shall be together even in your silent memory. And let the winds of the heaven dance between you. Love one another, but make not a bondage of love. Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls. Fill each others cup, but drink not from one cup. Give your hearts, but not into each others keeping, for only the hand of life can contain your hearts. And stand together, yet not too near together, for the pillars of the temple stand apart, and the oak tree and the cypress grow not in shadow."

Continuing, the Officiant nodded. "Marriage is a union of husband and wife in heart, body and mind. It is intended for their mutual joy, and for the help and comfort given one another in prosperity and adversity. But more importantly, it is a means through which a stable and loving environment may be attained. Through marriage, Damon Salvatore and Eva Novakov make a commitment together to face their disappointments, embrace their dreams, realize their hopes and accept each others failures. Damon and Eva will promise one another to aspire to these ideals throughout their lives together, through mutual understanding, openness, and sensitivity to each other. We are here today to witness the joining in marriage of Damon and Eva. This occasion marks the celebration of love and commitment with which this man and this woman begin their life together. And now, through me, I join you together in one of the holiest bonds."

Clearing her throat, the Officiant looked up. "Who gives this woman in marriage to this man?"

Everyone watched as Grey stood. "On behalf of our late parents, I do."

Nodding, the Officiant continued. "This is a beginning and a continuation of their growth as individuals. With mutual care, respect, responsibility, and knowledge comes the affirmation of each one's own life, happiness, growth and freedom. With respect for individual boundaries comes the freedom to love unconditionally. Within the emotional safety of a loving relationship, the knowledge self-offered one another becomes the fertile soil for continued growth. With care and responsibility towards self and one another comes the potential for full and happy lives. By gathering together all the wishes of happiness and our fondest hopes for Damon and Eva from all present here we assure them that our hearts are in tune with theirs. These moments are so meaningful to all of us, for "what greater thing is there for two human souls than to feel that they are joined together, to strengthen each other in all labor, to minister to each other in all sorrow, to share with each other in all gladness."

She looked up at Damon and Eva. "This relationship stands for love, loyalty, honesty and trust but most of all for friendship. Before they knew love they were friends, and it was from this seed of friendship that is their destiny. Do not think that you can direct the course of love. For if it finds you worthy, love shall direct you. Marriage is an act of faith and a personal commitment as well as a moral and physical union between two people. Marriage has been described as the best and most important relationship that can exist between them. It is the construction of their love and trust into a single growing energy of spiritual life. It is a moral commitment that requires and deserves daily attention. Marriage should be a life long consecration of the ideal of loving kindness, backed with the will to make it last."

The Officiant turned to Damon. "Do you Damon take Eva to be your wife, to live together in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor and keep her in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better, for worse, in sadness and in joy to cherish and continually bestow upon her your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keeping yourself only unto her as long as you both shall live?"

Nodding, Damon spoke. "I take you, Eva, to be my friend, my lover, the mother of my children and my wife. I will be yours in times of plenty and in times of want, in times of sickness and in times of health, in times of joy and in times of sorrow, in times of failure and in times of triumph. I promise to cherish and respect you, to care and protect you, to comfort and encourage you, and stay with you, for all eternity."

Then, she turned to Eva, who swallowed thickly. "Do you Eva take Damon to be your husband, to live together in the holy estate of matrimony? Will you love him, comfort him, honor and keep him, in sickness and in health, for richer, for poorer, for better for worse, in sadness and in joy to cherish and continually bestow upon him your heart's deepest devotion, forsaking all others, keeping yourself only unto him as long as you both shall live?"

Swallowing again, Eva turned to face Damon. "I don't have anything special like you did, but I will love you until my last dying breath. You invade every piece of me, Damon Salvatore, and I hope that never changes."

There were a few 'awwwwwws' from the crowd and a few sobbing guests, to which Eva wanted to roll her eyes at, but held herself together.

"What token of your love do you offer?"

Stefan and Elena handing their respective sides their rings.

"May these rings be blessed as the symbol of this affectionate unity. These two lives are now joined in one unbroken circle. Where they go, may they always return to one another. May these two find in each other the love for which all men and women yearn. May they grow in understanding and in compassion. May the home which they establish together be such a place that many will find a friend there. May these rings on their fingers symbolize the touch of the spirit of love in their hearts."

She once again turned to Damon. "Damon, in placing this ring on Eva's finger, repeat after me. Eva, you are now consecrated to me as my wife from this day forward, and I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity and with this ring, I thee wed."

"Eva, you are now consecrated to me as my wife from this day forward, and I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity and with this ring, I thee wed." Damon repeated as he slipped the ring on her slender finger.

She turned to Eva. "Eva, in placing this ring on Damon's finger, repeat after me. Damon, you are now consecrated to me as my husband from this day forward, and I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity and with this I thee wed."

"Damon, you are now consecrated to me as my husband from this day forward, and I give you this ring as the pledge of my love and as the symbol of our unity and with this I thee wed." Eva repeated as she slid the ring onto Damon's finger.

"May you always share with each other the gifts of love, be one in heart and mind. May you always create a home together that puts in your hearts love, generosity, and kindness. In as much as Damon and Eva have consented together in marriage before this company of friends and family and have pledged thier faith and declared their unity by the giving and receiving of rings, they are now joined. You have pronounced yourselves husband and wife, but remember to always be each others best friend."

Turning to Damon with a smile on her face, the Officiant spoke. "You may now kiss your bride."

Damon wasted no time in taking Eva's face in his hands and kissing her as if his life depended on it.

"And so, by the power vested in me by the State of Virginia, I now pronounce you man and wife. May your days be good and long upon the earth." Turning to face the crowd, the Officiant held her hands out. "It is my pleasure to announce for the first time as husband and wife, Mr and Mrs. Salvatore."


	27. Take Me Under

"Everyone quiet down!" Stefan hollered before wrapping an arm around Elena as she stood with him. Everyone hushed. "As best man and bridesmaid, Elena and I would like make a toast. Over the years, my brother and I have had our share of ups and downs. We've fought, we've lost people close to us. We've been throught it all. But we've yet to fall. I would like to extend my gratitude toward Eva, because without her, Damon would still be the arrogant prat that everyone in this town hated at first. If things hadn't turned out the way they did, I'm sure this ending would not have happened," Stefan looked at Eva. "So thank you, Eva, for coming back for my brother. I trust you completely with him, because I know you can handle his ... ways."

The next to speak was Elena as Eva curled herself into Damon's chest. "You two, you really remind me of what I hoped I could find. Being lost from each other for the longest time and finally finding each other, only to not have lost that love you two once had? That's a gift. That's a destiny that I'm sure anyone would love to have. So, with that said, I hope you cherish it and make it last. Your love, is what we all hope we can find in the future. Take care of her Damon, or I'll make your life a living hell if you don't." Elena gave the newlyweds a secret wink, to which Damon and Eva rolled their eyes.

The whole wedding was themed black and white. Two sides of the same coin, which was perfect for Damon and Eva. And, as the DJ began to play 'Halo' by Beyonce - which was a perfect song for Eva - Damon had taken her hand and led her to the dance floor.

_Remember those walls I built? Well, baby they're tumbling down and they didn't even put up a fight, they didn't even make a sound. Standing in the light of your halo, I got my angel now._

Damon twirled her perfectly, careful not to spin her too quickly as the rest of the guests watched in silence.

_Hit me like a ray of sun, burning through my darkest night. You're the only one that I want, think I'm addicted to your light. _

Holding his hand against her back, Damon dipped her with percision.

_I swore I'd never fall again, but this don't even feel like falling, gravity can't forget to pull me back to the ground again._

And as the song began to fade away, the slowly came to a stop, her head resting on his shoulder as they swayed slowly, as the DJ turned on another slow song.

"How do you feel?"

"We're fine, Damon." Eva whispered as she turned her chin up to look at him.

"Good." Damon smiled as he leaned his head down to kiss her softly.

"Get a room!" Stefan shouted from his spot on the dancefloor.

Eva laughed, shaking her head.

The DJ managed to put on another song, one that Eva first heard at the Miss Mystic Falls dance and Stefan had asked if he could cut in. Damon had turned to Elena just as Stefan turned to her. As they danced, Stefan was beginning to think something was up.

_I'm dying to catch my breath, oh why don't I ever learn? I've lost all my trust, though I've surely tried to turn it around. Can you still see the heart of me? All my agony fades away when you hold me in your embrace._

"What's going on between you and Damon? You two hanging on to a secret?"

_Don't tear me down for all I need, make my heart a better place, give me something I can believe. Don't tear me down, you've opened the door now, don't let it close._

"You mean that secret that Elena began to spill a few nights ago?"

_I'm here on the edge again, I wish I could let it go, I know that I'm only one step away from turning it around. Can you still see the heart of me? All my agony fades away when you hold me in your embrace._

"That one." Stefan said.

Swallowing thickly, Eva looked up at Stefan. "Congradulations, Uncle Stefan."

It took Stefan a moment for it to register before he pulled her into one of his famous bear hugs. He twirled her around a few times, Eva laughing as he did. "I must say, this is a better reaction to the news than Elena's reaction."

"Why?"

"She wouldn't talk for twenty minutes."

"Shock?"

"Probably." Eva shrugged her shoulders and as the song ended, Stefan had let her go. "I need to go sit down."

An arm was held out for her, and Eva looked up to see Grey. "Allow me."

She took her brother's arm and grinned, walking back to their table.

"So, finally got your happy ending you've always wanted, huh?" Grey grinned as pulled out a chair for her to sit down.

"Mmmm." Eva replied, smiling as she watched Damon mingle with the crowd.

"He's changed, from the last time I've seen him."

"That he has."

"How many kids you two plan on having?"

Eva turned to her brother, face full of shock. "How-?"

Grey smirked at her. "I can hear a faint heartbeat."

Eva's face fell. "You are such a smart ass."

Grey shrugged his shoulders. "I try my best."

Just as Eva was about to say something else, Damon came up behind her, his hands resting on her shoulders.

Grey stood, holding his hand out to Damon. "Take care of my sister."

Damon shook his hand, nodding. "If I don't, you have permission to kill me."

"I'll hold you to it." Grey left a moment later to mingle with the rest of the gang.

Damon sat down next to Eva, taking her hand in his. "I heard you told Stefan."

"He told you?"

"Nope." Damon replied. "I heard you two whispering from across the room."

Eva raised an eyebrow. "How-?" Then it dawned on her. "Oh, right. The werewolf genes in you." She rolled her eyes at him.

A moment of silence passed between them before Eva spoke. "Do you think it'll be like you?" She leaned her head forward to whisper to him. "You know, the werewolf gene and all?"

"And if it is?"

"I don't care, as long as it's healthy. I just need to know you won't be teaching it how to jump off rooftops by the age of two."

Damon chuckled.


	28. Breath Of Life

**Date: **April 12th | Three months along.

**Dear Diary: **I've come to the conclusion that I'm not supposed to wear heels during the pregnancy... ever. Which is painful for me, since all I own are heels. I've resorted to borrowing Elena's flats, which is sad, because we just found out that Elena is only four weeks pregnant and she can still wear heels. It's been two months since the wedding, and I couldn't be happier than I am now. Who wouldn't, with Damon Salvatore bringing you breaksfast every morning? In fact, I'm sitting here, writing this as he prepares breaksfast downstairs. It's such a weird feeling, being married, pregnant and human, all in a few short months. I've been a vampire for so long, sometimes I still find myself shielding my skin from the sun, only to realize that I am no longer a slave to the sun. The baby has been good. I've finally come to terms with the morning sickness and I've found a way to overcome it too. Grey or Caroline would give me a vial of their vampire blood and it would get rid of the morning sickness. At first, Damon wasn't too fond of it, but he was happy to obey my pregnant attitude, ha. Anyway, I hear him coming up the stairs, so I'll write more later.

Eva closed her diary and stuck it beneath her pillow just as Damon came into the room.

"Smells delcious." She grinned as she pushed herself up into a sitting position.

Fresh strawberries, freshly squeezed orange juice, toast with some his own specialtly of scrambled eggs. Her favorite. "Looks delicious too." She picked up a strawberry and bit into it. Damon's hand slipped under her silk night gown, caressing her barely swollen belly. They sat there in perfect silence, just enjoying each other's company. "You know, I'm fully capable of driving to the doctors, instead of them coming here." Eva mentioned, biting into another strawberry after a moment of silence.

"Absolutely not." Damon argued. "I'd rather you not drive."

"Oh, here we go." Eva muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes.

Since she told him, he'd been nothing but a dotting soon-to-be father, only now, it was getting on her pregnant nerves. He could trust her to carry his child safely, but not drive herself to the doctors? Eva rolled her eyes again.

"Stefan lets Elena go to the doctors."

"Stefan drives her."

"Why can't you drive me, then?"

"Because, I want you to be where I can see you."

"You can come in with, to the doctors."

"Why can't you just be patient with me?"

"Oh, Damon." She grinned, kissing him. "I am patient with you, but I can only be so patient. I'm tired of looking at the same four walls, just like I'm tired of you fussing over everything I do - not that I don't appreciate it - I just... need room to breathe, love. I would like to be able to get out of bed and walk without you following me, wondering when I'm going to trip." She held his face with her hands. "If you trust me enough to carry your child, trust me enough to be able to do things on my own without worrying."

"I'm sorry." Damon said after a moment. "I can't help it."

Eva grinned. "I know. I can see it in your eyes. You want to smother me."

He placed his hand back on her swollen stomach. "That I do."

"I'll make a deal." Eva replied. "How about a double date? I can get out, have some girl time with Elena and you can still keep an eye on me? We have a picnic in the park or something."

Damon contemplated this idea of hers. It wasn't a bad idea. It got her out of the house and he could still keep an eye on her. The only thing he had to do was get Stefan to agree to it. That wasn't a hard task, to be frank. But Damon would still have to convince his brother that it wasn't his idea to begin with. That was the hard task.

"Deal." Damon retorted.

"Good." Eva pouted. "I just need some fresh air."

Damon had kissed her then, taking her argument with her breath as he continued his assault. There was urgency in his kisses, like he could never get enough of them to sustain him for the day. When he finally let her come up for air, Eva blinked at him, breathing heavy.

"You are the devil himself, Damon Salvatore." She narrowed her eyes a him.

_You're an addict and you don't want to be free._

It took her longer than it should have to get dressed, but only because she couldn't find something decent to wear with the flats that were Elena's. Finally giving up on the tenth outfit she tried on, Eva sighed heavily, hearing Damon call to her from the other side of the door.

"I'm coming!"

She pulled open the door, meeting his gaze as she walked past him.

"Something wrong?"

"I'd like to call off the deal. I look terrible."

"You do not."

Stopping, Damon came to stand beside her. She took a look at him, dressed in all black, looking as sharp as he did the day he turned back into a human, then looked at herself. They were complete opposites. She was in her last fitting pair of black leggings with a gray short sleeved shirt that went past her ass, completing the look with a pair of Elena's flats and some long over lapping necklaces.

"You look fine." Damon replied, wrapping his arm around her waist.

One look at Elena and you couldn't tell she was even a little over a month pregnant. The car ride was silent, for the most part. Stefan opted to drive with Damon in the passenger seat, while Eva sat in the back with Elena. "Where are we going first?" Elena had asked half way into the car ride.

"You'll see." Stefan replied.

Somewhere in that conversation, Eva had managed to doze off into a uncomfortable car ride slumber. She was awoken by Damon tapping her leg.

"Wake up, Sleeping Beauty."

Eva lifted her head just as Damon opened the back door. "Come on, you're going to be late."

"Late for what?"

Damon helped her out of the car. "Your doctor's appointment." When Eva gave him a pointed look, Damon explained further. "I changed the one that was for next week to today, since we were out."

Eva raised an eyebrow as she walked up the steps with Damon, Stefan and Elena staying behind in the car. "Why are you guys not coming with?"

"Elena doesn't want to impose." Stefan chuckled.

"It's a surprise." Damon replied as he held the door open for her. She walked through and went up to the receptionist, Damon right behind her.

"Check-up." He told the receptionist.

"Name?"

"Salvatore."

"Five minutes. Have a seat. Doctor will be right with you."

"I've been sitting for too long, I'll stand." Eva was still trying to stretch her stiff bones. The smell of a clean medical building was making her nose itch. It was too clean.

"Salvatore?" The same doctor that was usually coming to the manor was standing in the doorway. She let Damon and Eva pass as she held the door open. "What changed? Usually I'm coming to your house."

"She bugged me to get out." Damon grinned.

"It's nice to get some fresh air every once in awhile while you're pregnant."

"Ha." Eva retorted as she stepped into the room and sat on the cold table.

Damon stood next to the exam table, taking her hand in his.

"Lay back." Dr. Julia lifted up Eva's shirt once her back was on the table. Tucking a napkin into the hem of her pants, Dr. Julia excused herself for a moment.

Damon, however, didn't look surprised.

"What is she going to do?"

"We're going to find out what it is." Damon smirked. "I asked, when I called earlier, if it was possible."

Dr. Julia came back, wheeling in a cart. Smiling softly, she squeezed some cold gel onto her stomach. "Ready to find out?"

Eva nodded numbly, the sudden reality of knowing that there's a child growing inside of her becoming more and more pronounced. Rubbing the gell around her exposed stomach, Eva watched Damon silently as he searched the monitor, watching the unborn child move around at the intrusion. Wonder was in his eyes, that much she could see from his expression. It was cute, watching him watch his child - his fresh and blood - on the screen.

"Ah. There we go." Julia stopped moving the stick around and smiled at the two of them. She pointed her index finger at the screen, toward the spot that was the lower half of the small baby. "See? That right there, means it's a boy."

"It's a boy?" Damon questioned, to which Julia nodded.

Eva watched him grin lopsided.

"My son." Damon looked down at her. "_Our _son." He leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"Do you want to hear the heartbeat?" Julia asked.

Both Damon and Eva nodded, listening as Julia flipped a switch on the machine before searching against with the stick, the little sound of a heartbeat finally sounding through the speakers. She hadn't realized she'd been crying until Damon's thumbs ran under her eyes, wiping them away.

"He's real." Eva whispered. "He's real, Damon and he's alive." More tears were flowing from her eyes as Damon kissed her softly.

Julia wiped the gel from her stomach and left the room to print out some pictures. As soon as the door was shut, Damon bent down and kissed her exposed stomach before pulling her shirt down and helping his wife sit up. Once they got the photos, they scheduled another appointment and left the building, walking back to the car. Damon helped her back into the car and it wasn't long before Stefan had asked how it went and Eva watched his expression carefully when Damon handed his brother the photos. First it was shock, then it was awe. Elena leaned over the driver's seat to get a good look at the photos.

"A boy?"

"Mhm." Damon grinned at his brother.

"Good, a boy to carry on the Salvatore bloodline." Stefan chuckled.

"Hey!" Elena smacked his arm.

Damon raised an eyebrow.

"She thinks she's having a girl." Stefan answered his unspoken question. "She has a 'feeling'."


	29. Hello, Mr Right

The second car ride of that day was more loud than quiet. Stefan and Elena were trying to figure out what they could buy for the future Salvatore. Eva was lost in her thoughts, while Damon was listening to Stefan and Elena bicker about what to buy, all the while shaking his head at them. When they finally reached the park, it was nearly noon. Eva got out of the car and stretched, her whole body feeling incredibly tired. Damon and Stefan unloaded all the food while Eva and Elena set up the blanket.

"Do you think it's awfully weird, how all our lives just suddenly fell into place when we turned back into humans?" Eva wondered. "No vampires crashed the wedding. We haven't been killed yet. It all seems too good to be true."

"Shhhhush." Elena scolded her. "Don't jinx it."

Damon wrapped his muscled arms around her swollen stomach as she leaned against him, using him as somewhat of a pillow. There was a moment of perfect silence, something that Eva needed, badly. There were so many thoughts running rampant through her mind that she couldn't figure them out before another one was thrown into the mix of her scattered brain. Damon squeezed her gently, resting his chin on her shoulder.

"What's going on in that head of yours?"

"Any and everything."

They watched people play games in the crisp April air and munched on the food they brought with while they chatted about all things related to babies. Elena argued with Eva that she would secretly have twins, while Eva argued with Elena that she could very well have a boy, to which Elena argued that she knew she wasn't having a boy. Somehow, Eva thought she'd chose to not be able to wear heels over being a basket case like Elena anyday. She gave Stefan a sympathetic smile. Damon was silently shaking with laughter behind her, burying his face into the crook of her neck.

By the time they finished arguing and finally got everything packed back into the car, it was nearly dark as they made their way back to the manor. Damon was in the back seat with Eva curled up against him watching the trees run past them as they drove at a decent speed. When they reached the manor, Eva was the first to walk in, feeling the need to pee. Elena and Stefan had went to bed, which left Damon alone by himself. Walking into the kitchen, he pulled out a container of fudge, just as Eva walked in. She sat down on the bar stool and watched him.

Without warning, Damon threw a piece of fudge at her.

"Hey! Stop that."

She threw it back, and he caught it and ate it, and smiled as if he hadn't been planning the attack since they got home. Soon they were rolling around on the floor in front of the refridgerator in an all-out fudge fight, pitching scraps at each other. Laughing, Eva pounced, trying but failing to bowl him over backwards. He flipped her over and she retaliated by grabbing fudge bits off the floor and stuffing them down the back of his shirt.

"Hey!" He squirmed and she giggled, and he let more of his weight come down on her to hold her still. And the perspective shifted. Eva looked up at him, both of them breathless, Damon smirking with mischief and that black hair falling over his forehead. She saw his grey eyes widen, pupils seeming to darken... then he leaned down and kissed her. Less than a second later she kissed him back. Eva wrapped one arm around him, fingers sliding up into his hair, and Damon followed her gentle pull, letting more of his body down on top of her, careful not to let his full body weight drop onto of her. He shifted his arms to hold himself up over her, kissing her more deeply. Eva closed her eyes. He smelled like clean laundry and soap and fudge, and, underneath it, smooth male musk that had to be Damon himself.

"That wasn't fair." Eva mused, breathless.

"I figured you need to loosen up a little."

"Me?" She snorted, smearing fudge on the tip of his nose.

As Eva let her fingertips dance upon his face, Damon shuddered. Deep cold, mingled with a sudden, intense desire, clutched at his muscular body. Damon admired her beauty, which was undeniable, but there was much more that drew him to her—and it had nothing to do with enchantment. He drank in the scent of her, that mingled aroma of life, death, and sweet perfumes, a scent only he could have ever really mastered knowing, a scent only he could appreciate and be drawn to her all the more.

"I'm sorry," He said with a soft grin. "That was very forward of me."

Eva hesitated, looking certainly bewildered, though whether or not she disapproved, it was still hard to tell. But then, all at once, she was back in his arms, kissing him again. A soft, sweet brushing of her lips across his, a touch barely there, lighter than air yet more tantalizing for all its delicateness. As his eyes reassured her, encouraged her, even, her breathing quickened. Cupping the back of her head, entwining his fingers in her black hair, he drew her face close, and their lips met in a more passionate embrace.

Even as his arms drew her closer to his muscular body, deeper into the kiss, he began to feel Eva drinking his energy. It was a subtle change—first their kiss was mutual, and then slowly, inexorably, she began taking control of him, drawing from him what she so needed, just as he had been taking what he so desired. His lids grew heavy, his body weakened, but he didn't care. He didn't care how weak he was around her, as long as he was around her, Damon could care less.

At some point, it seemed all time faded away, ceasing to exist. He wavered on the verge of consciousness, as if floating in a dream; it had been so long since Damon felt the caress of a lover's touch. And more than just touching him, Eva _savored _him. Her breath tickled warm in his ear as she leaned close and whispered things to him he barely heard, how she loved the taste of his mouth, the strength of his jaw, the feel of his hands against her skin, the touch of his hair as she dragged her fingers through it… Then her hands moved lower, down to his chest. Again, he couldn't help melting into that touch.


	30. Clockwork Prince

"I'm glad you're here."

"Where else would I be?" Damon replied as he planted a kiss in his wife's hair. It wasn't a question. He knew where his loyalty stood. His loyalty stood with Eva, his wife. There was no other place that Damon wanted to be, ever. Her stomach was slowly protruding from underneath the clothing that she wore. Pretty soon, she knew she would grow out of it. If that was the way, she didn't mind it. Not even in the slightest. Not for the infant growing inside of her. She looked over at the man laying in the bed, smiling at her as if he didn't have a care in the world.

_God, the man was handsome._

He had one arm raised up around his head and looked more like a boy an immortal vampire turned human again. Impulsively, she leaned over and kissed his parted lips. He reached for her, catching her around the neck. He held her there, and she knew she wouldn't be able to get out of it. Not that she minded. He paid no attention though, silently shaking with laughter. It took her a full three minutes before she was finally able to extricate her head from his arms.

When she did, she leaned down, pressing her lips lightly against his. He didn't move this time, making her think that he was dead or something. But then, a hand traveled up her leg nearest to him, under the nightgown she wore. She watched as a sadistic, torturing smirk took hold of his lips as his eyes fluttered open. The moan couldn't be stopped then, as he looked at her with that seductive, alluring, come-hither look. It made her insides burn. Before she could say a word to him, he was bringing his lips to hers, and she was lost in them the moment they touched her own, giving herself over willingly to his plunder.

His fingertips traced different patterns on the inside of her thigh. She could feel the pure, carnal heat pooling, threatening to bring another moan from her lips. This was wrong. They both knew it, but he didn't stop himself. Why should she? Why should she deny him this pleasure? She wanted to please him, and make him happy. But this was pure torture. And he seemed to enjoy it, too much for his own good.

He nipped at her lips and flicked them with his tongue until she was breathless, her hands cupping his face. She felt the loss of his mouth as he lifted his head, but he soon put those soft, warm lips to work kissing her cheek, nibbling at her earlobe, tracing a burning trail down her neck and down to her breast. He bit down, softly, on the sensitive skin, making a unfeminine growl come from her throat as his hand simultaneously worked it's way down, past her growing stomach, to seek out what he knew she'd promised him, long ago.

"Damon.." She whispered breathlessly.

She had to stop herself, before they did something that would badly. But God, did she want him to continue, it took nearly every part of her willpower to make him stop. And when he did, a full cavalcade of emotions passed over his face, too quickly for her eyes to catch them all. But one caught her attention the most; partial disappointment. Disappointment because he couldn't do what he _really _wanted to her. Now, that just made her feel worse than she did when she forced herself to stop him. Countless amounts of guilt ran through her. So much, that she pressed her lips against his. Damn her for becoming this... emotional wreck.

"I'm sorry."

A roguish smile took hold of his lips then, "It's alright. You have more control than me, though."

She knew that. But she wouldn't tell him how fast she was willing to give herself over to him, with just that look on his face. She wouldn't admit it to him, but she'd be damned if she let him consume her. There would be nothing she would want to do, after that. It would be like, running a marathon and then wanting to sleep for the next twenty years. With him pressed against her like that though, made it hard for her to gather her scattered thoughts. And he seemed to take that to his advantage, yet again, as his hand traveled back down to between her legs.

"No- Now, that's not fair." It wasn't fair. He knew that just as much as she did.

His hands worked their way up her body, bringing the nightgown down right along with it, until he brought it over her head, tossing it aside off the bed. She felt the loss of his mouth as he lifted his head, but he soon put those soft, warm lips to work kissing her cheek, nibbling at her earlobe, tracing a burning trail down her neck and down to her breast. He lightly bit her nipples until they stood taut and dark rose beneath him. Every stroke of his tongue, every powerful pull of his lips sent a ripple of aching want coursing down to between her legs where it blossomed into carnal heat. Her hips arched against his thigh, seeking out the sweet pressure his body promised. His erection was hard against her hip, so hard she thought she might bruise from it, as his fingers caressed the inside of her spread thighs.

She spread them wider.

"Inside," She half begged, half commanded. "Put your fingers inside me."

Damon groaned against her breast and bit her tender flesh hard enough that she gasped and arched at the pleasure of it. But he did not immediately give in to her. His hot fingers continued tracing light designs on her flesh, ignoring the dampening spot that screamed for his touch. She arched her hips and reached down with her own hand to capture his, directing it to the apex of her , with a seductive, triumphant laugh, he gave her what she craved. His mouth went back to her breast, sucking one tight, sensitive nipple into his mouth and tonguing it until she moaned out loud. As he teased and tormented her naked flesh, he slipped one long finger inside her.

She was so wet he slid in easily, and she sighed in delight at the intrusion. His finger moved inside her, curving until it found a spot that sparked the most intense sensation of pleasure. She spread her legs farther and he repositioned himself so that he knelt between them. Bending her knees, she raised them to her chest to allow him deeper access to her body. The sensations aroused by his finger increased to a delirious when she thought he couldn't give her any more pleasure, Damon's thumb slipped between the soaked cleft of her sex, to find that one spot that throbbed for his touch. She gasped, lifting her hips as he stroked her inside and out.

The pleasure was almost unbearable.

He raised his head for a moment and she met the bright, feral intensity of his gaze. His lips were moist, his cheeks flushed. Her hands entangled themselves in his hair, the softness curling around her fingertips. Then he was gone. For a moment, she was confused, then something brushed the inside of her thigh, and she realized it was his hair. She had but one sweet moment to realize what torture he was about to bestow upon her next before the wet, hard thrust of his tongue brought her hips off the bed.

His mouth was on her, his tongue sliding between the swollen lips to stroke the tight little knot of flesh with determined pressure. Her fingers caught in his hair as her hips undulated under his assault. The assault continued for a few minutes before he stopped suddenly, throwing himself over to the other side of the bed. And that was the end of it. Her mind reeled back, a pout took hold of her lips as she glanced down at him, his facial features had taken on a new, playful tone.

"That was very evil of you, Salvatore." She muttered, adjusting her night gown back over her legs.


	31. Blessed

She couldn't help but notice how truly exhausted he looked. The last seven months were taking it's toll on sex romps had truly worn him out. And it was probably because of her. Because she was nothing but a handful of her own, with her raging hormones and outrageous sex drive that was about to drive them both mad with desire. Her thoughts were torn from her when she felt his fingertips dance across her swollen abdomen in his sleep, the thought that she was still next to him seemed to calm him, knowing that she was still next to him.

She heard the footsteps and looked up, motioning to Grey to be quiet. Quietly sliding out of the bed, Eva took her brother's outstretched hand. As they walked out of the room and down the stairs, Eva quietly chatted with her brother until they reached the living room.

"Damon needs some sleep. He's been trying his best to keep my pregnant attitude calm. It's not working so well."

Grey gave her a dry look. "I really don't need to know what you two do in your spare time."

Eva snickered softly as she sat down on the leather couch. So much had changed, so much had happened in her life. Once cold and calculated she was. Now, she felt warm and fuzzy inside. And all because of one person, one man. She couldn't believe it, how this could of happened to her.

"I just wanted the glow. Making a human being is really hard. I have no control over my body or my emotions."

"But you're giving Damon a child. Isn't that worth it all?" Grey questioned.

"It is. Especially since he didn't know about the other one that Katherine ended."

Damon was a womanizer before, sure. He could be callous, he drifted through his victim's lives like a chimera, like a catalyst, changing other people while he himself remained unchanged and unchanging. He mystified humans, confused them, used them even, leaving them bewildered, because he had the charm of the devil. But he never broke his word. She'd never seen him break his word. And she had a rock bottom feeling that this wasn't something that was a decision, it was so much a part of Damon, lodged so deep in his subconscious, that even he couldn't do anything to change it. He couldn't break his word. No matter how hard he tried to, it always came back to haunt him later.

"Do you miss being a vampire?" Grey asked, after a few moments of silence.

"Honestly?" Eva replied, "Yeah, sometimes. I miss the power that came with being a vampire."

Another moment of silence passed between them as she thought more on the subject. "But I wouldn't change it for the world. I like being human too, means I get to experience things that I hadn't experienced in over a hundred and seventy-five years. It's a nice change. I can have children, obviously." She inclined her head to her swollen stomach. "And I can eat food without needing blood. That's always a plus. But being seven months pregnant now, it takes a toll on you. Obviously you wouldn't know." She grinned as her brother rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure you don't miss the sunlight."

"Never." Eva smirked.

He grinned at her. "The perks of being immortal, I can assure you."

"Yeah, well, you'll see one day, that human life can have just as many perks." Eva retorted.

Their love was a battlefield, people wanted them dead. Beauty and the Beast, literally. And if they didn't surrender soon, they would loose everything they had, she feared. It was the beginning of a war, that no one knew if they were going to come out of it or not. That's what scared her the most. People saw them as forbidden, just like Stefan and Elena, their love was forbidden, an outcast of sorts. It wasn't to be combined. And now that they had a child on the way, made things worse. There was no telling when their fairy-tale life was going to go up in flames. No telling when an enemy was going to bust down the front door and try and kill them all. It made it even that more dangerous for any of them. But that never stopped them, no. They got their armor and fought back against the forces that wanted them dead. Just like Stefan and Elena, they fought.

She thought about Damon's lips then, her thoughts drifting to the way he worked his lips that sent her mind reeling. Perfectly sculpted, sweet and innocent looking lips. They got her into trouble in more ways than one, more times than she could count. They were her destruction and her redemption. It sent shivers down her spine. And Eva was nothing special. Elena, she was everything one could hope for. She had Stefan. There was a time where Eva was jealous of Elena, because she had both brothers on her hip.

She'd never admit it openly, but she was. She wanted someone like Stefan, someone who would lay his life on the line for her, every day of the week. And there was no questioning it, he would just do it. He would care for her, love her, heal her heart, by taping the pieces back together, because everyone knows glue didn't hold the pieces together anymore. She had wanted someone like Stefan so bad. Just so she could stop fighting her own battles. For someone to finally be in her corner of the ring. Someone who could erase the pain that she'd been put through.

Then Damon came back into her life.

And flipped her world upside down.

He had been everything she thought she wanted, and everything else she could of hoped for. And god help her if anything was going to get in the way of that. Her thoughts took her back to the days that were so simple, the days where Damon was the same Damon he was now. Damon Salvatore had done a one eighty, completely turning his arrogant vampire side off and becoming the same Damon that was back in 1864, before Katherine got to him.

And to _love_, is to be _destroyed_. And Damon had loved and destroyed her completely.


	32. Illusions

The doctor looked to ensure that no one was in contact with the patient or the stretcher and depressed the buttons on the paddles, directing 300 joules of electricity into the patient's chest. The woman's body jerked violently in response to the electrical shock. It had only an hour since she'd be brought into the ER, on the brink of death. There was so much devastation back at the manor, Damon knew. There was so much blood, everywhere. It was around midnight, that Damon woke to Eva screaming - blood covering the lower half of her night gown. He instantly knew the outcome couldn't be good. Stefan had helped him call and ambulance as Elena tried to keep Eva awake and talking.

_"Stay with me, Eva."_

"Nothing," He said, staring at the heart monitor, hanging from the wall.

He quickly looked into his nurse's eyes, then nodded for her to increase the energy to 360 joules. The nurses could see beads of perspiration developing around the edges of the doctor's black hair. Less than five minutes ago the patient was recovering from blood loss, with steady vitals − now they were fighting for the woman's life.

"Everybody clear!" shouted the doctor, and again he depressed the buttons on the paddles.

Second's passed, Damon's blue eyes were locked on the heart monitor, which continued to display the deadly fibrillating pattern as Stefan and Elena looked on. There was a moment of surprise coming from Stefan as he reached his hand up and squeezed Damon's shoulder, a reassuring gesture.

"More CPR and give her one milligram of epinephrine." The doctor ordered.

The trauma team quickly carried out his commands. Nurses administered the CPR until he again grabbed the shock paddles − this time delivering an even more powerful shock than before. The woman's body bounced on the stretcher in response, but this time a faint pulse could be seen on the monitor. The pensive trauma staff watched as the patient's pulse grew stronger and a steady and consistent rhythm developed.

"Make sure we get some Amiodarone on board so this doesn't happen again − and get me the cardiologist, now!" The doctor said loudly, as he ripped the latex gloves from his hands and walked out of the trauma room. Stefan had followed the doctor, whispering to Elena to keep an eye on Damon. His blue gaze never left his wife's body - her seemingly lifeless body. She was cold and pale, with wires stuck to all parts of her body, checking to make sure that she was still alive and that their child hadn't suffered.

For the first time in his entire life, Damon prayed. Damon prayed to who ever was watching over her, to bring her and their child to the land of the living, in one piece, alive. There were tears in Damon's eyes, silently and slowly making their way down his pale cheek. He didn't bother to stop them as one trickled down the other side of his face. Now that he had done all he could do to try to protect her, he didn't seem to care about keeping up appearances. Fine tremors ran through his body as another tear ran down his cheek. His body was catching up with the adrenaline-spurt that had allowed him to think on the fly. Now, Damon only felt tiredness and the need to sleep - or die, depending on how the night ended. He took Eva's pale hand into his and kissed the top of it just as Elena came over to stand beside him, her hands resting on his shoulders.

"She's a fighter Damon, she'll make it through." Elena had done her best to console him but Damon wasn't the one to be consoled so easily.

He shook his head. "I can't lose her."

Elena looked up at the monitors, beeping constantly. If they were vampires... they could heal her. The thought was instantly thrown from her mind. She knew Eva liked being human and turning her back into a vampire without trying everything in their power to bring her back first, would prove difficult when she did wake up. Elena left Damon to his thoughts, walking out of the room to where Stefan was.

"How is he?"

"The same, Stefan." Elena sighed. "How did this happen?"

"The doctors say that it was a pre-existing condition. She was hemoraging, she would of died had she not been woken up by the pain. She would of died had Damon not kept her alive." Stefan explained, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Maybe none of this was supposed to be." She lowered her voice. "Maybe we're supposed to be vampires and not have children. Maybe this is the world telling us we should have Caroline change us back."

"No, Elena."

"Stefan! Elena!" Caroline came walking up to them, with Grey walking up beside her.

"Is she okay? Is my sister okay?" Grey questioned, looking between Stefan and Elena.

"It's grim." Stefan spoke, breaking the silence. "There's a five percent chance that both will live."

Both Caroline and Grey paled.

"And Damon? Does he know this?"

"No." This time, Elena spoke. "And we don't want to tell him either."

Slowly, Damon watched Eva's eyes open.

"Hey- shhh, no, it's okay, love. Stay still." He brushed a few tears away from her eyes.

"I-I'm sorry." Her voice was hoarse and with his human ears, Damon barely heard her.

"For what?"

"Not being able to give you a child."

"No-No, don't worry about that now." Damon rubbed his thumb over her cheek. "He's fine. _Our son is fine. _Don't cry."

"Let me go, Damon. Take care of our son.. but let me go."

"What?" Damon could feel his heart break in two. "Absolutely not."

"Damon-"

"No, Eva. I will not let you go. I will not sit here and promise you something that I refuse to do. I will not let our son grow up to be like me - motherless." He said it with so much conviction that he felt his heart repairing itself, slowly but surely. "You will make it. He will make it. And if not, then..." Oh, he hated the next words that were about to slip past his ears, surely afraid Eva would get off the bed and kick his sorry ass. "...then we'll let him go. I will not lose you. If it means losing another child, I don't care. I wouldn't be able to look at him, if you were gone. He would remind me so much of you."

Slowly, Eva's hand reached up to touch Damon's face. He reveled in the feeling of her cold, soft skin against his burning face. Cold, dead eyes stared into his, as he watched her carefully.

"You would care for him, Damon. I know you would. For that precise reason; he'd remind you of me. That's why you'd keep him alive and healthy."

A sob left Damon's chest. "I don't want to you to leave me."


	33. The Gift

Six hours already, dawn was approaching over the horizon, signaling daybreak. A new day. Damon hadn't moved from his seat in the waiting room since they took her away for an emergency C-section. The baby was slowly dying, slowly killing his mother in the process. This was the final battle, whether they would come out and say they were both alive was the final decision. It was going on seven hours when finally, the doors of the operation room opened and the same nurse that had taken her into the operation room in the first place came walking out.

Looking at Damon, she smiled softly. "She's asking for you."

Everyone watched Damon's reaction, to which he could of promptly fainted at the woman's words. She was alive. _She was alive. _Damon stood, following the nurse back into the OR.

"Change into these. It should be another half hour, she started to come around a few minutes ago, good thing for the epidural." The nurse said, handing him some tacky blue scrubs that Damon was sure to make him look like an alien.

Eva had heard the doors of the operation room open again.

"Damon?" She searched the faces in the room for her husband.

"I'm right here." His silky voice was the first thing she heard, then his face came into her view. She could of laughed at him, with the nurse's hat hiding his black hair, and the mask covering everything but his eyes. Her arms were tied down, for a reason she didn't really know why.

"I'm cold."

She could virtually hear Damon frown as he looked at one of the nurses next to him. "Can't she have a blanket?"

"Sure." The nurses smiled and left, returning with a hefty blanket and covered her chest and arms with it.

Damon snuck his hand underneath the blanket and took hold of her hand.

"How is he?"

"I have no idea. The only news I've heard of, was that you were asking for me." Damon pushed a few loose hairs away from her forehead.

"I'm scared."

"I'm here. I won't let anything happen to you."

"Suction! Good, okay, close her up." She heard the doctor say, then he was beside her on the other side of Damon. "We finally got the bleeding under control, you'll be here for a few days with some medication that will help you get your strength back."

"What about my son?"

"He's in the NICU, being monitored. My associate will stitch you up and bring you back to your room."

An hour later, she was pushed out of the operating room and then, the lights above her were moving at a decent pace, one right after another, with Damon looking down at her, her hand in his.

"Hey Eva." Elena came into view with Stefan. "How you feeling?"

"Tired."

The nurse pushed her into her room and before she left, her and Damon had a little chat.

"What was all that about?" Eva questioned, sleep threatening to envade her thoughts.

"Nothing."

A few minutes later and the same nurse came back into the room. "Mr. Salvatore?"

Damon disappeared from view for a second and reappeared a moment later, holding his son, swathed in powdered blue. Eva was amazed, that was her doing. She made that. When she glanced at Damon, who took a seat on the bed, he had tears in his eyes.

"Here's your son, Mrs. Salvatore." Damon whispered, his voice hoarse.

"_Our son._" Eva breathed.

If her heart lasted this long, she was sure it was going to die in the next few moments as Damon leaned down and planted a soft kiss into the boy's shock of black hair. Tears sprang into her eyes at the sight. This is what it would of been like a hundred and seventy-five years ago. It was finally all set in a place of happiness. There was nothing more that she would like to have then the picture that she was looking at now; Damon, holding their healthy son, who was oblivious to the world.

Somewhere, Damon thanked whoever saved them both. And somewhere deep down, Damon believed that the person that saved them both, was standing right beside him, looking over his son, gently caressing his baby soft hair. Somewhere deep down, Damon believed that person to be his own mother. His own mother couldn't bare the thought of her son having to go through the same thing all over again.

"Thank you, Eva." Damon whispered, leaning over to place a soft kiss on her lips.

Have you ever had one of those moments when time just freezes? You know, when the world suddenly goes deathly still, and you could hear a pin drop, and the squishing sound your heart makes is so loud in your ears you feel like you're drowning in blood, and you stand there in that suspended moment and die a thousand deaths, but not really, and the moment passes and dumps you out on the other side of it, with your mouth hanging open, and an erased blackboard where your mind used to be? Every time Eva spoke, moved, cried or laughed, Damon copied it and kept it in his mind, safe and sound, forever burned in his memory.

He never wanted to be rid of her, ever. He wanted her forever. He never wanted to leave her side. Their son was here, she was safe and so was he. They were all safe. They were all healthy. There was nothing in the world that would take them from him now. Damon wouldn't allow it. Only her love could make him question every move he made, every choice. The only thing that had tethered him to the earth had been her and it was strange, but he felt welded to her on some core level now.

She had seen him at his absolute worst, at his weakest and most insane, and she hadn't looked away. She hadn't judged and she hadn't been burned. It was as if in the heat of his meltdown they had melted together. This was more than emotion. It was a matter of soul. The human was the hottest thing he'd ever gotten anywhere near. And he'd cozied up to a lightning strike once or twice before. On the chessboard of his godforsaken existence, the pieces were lined up, the play preordained.

Funny, transformative events were not always scheduled and not always expected. Yeah, sure, your change turned you into a male. And when you went through the mating ceremony, you were part of a whole. No longer just yourself. And the deaths and the births around you made you view the world differently. But every once in a while, from out of the blue, someone reaches the quiet place where you spend your private time and changes the way you see yourself.

If you're lucky it's your mate…the transformation reminds you once again that you are absolutely, positively with the right person: because what they say doesn't touch you because of who they are to you, but because of the content of their message. And sometimes it's age in the face of youth. Or sickness in the face of health.

But sometimes it's just because you're looking into the eyes of your lover, and your gratitude for having them in your life overflows...because you showed them what was on the inside and they didn't run scared or turn away: they accepted you and loved you and held you in the midst of your passion or your fear...or your combination of both. Damon closed his eyes and focused on the soft pulls at his wrist. God, they were just like the beat of his heart. Which made sense. Because she was the center of his chest. And the center of his world.


End file.
